pieces of eight: Popular term for silver Spanish 8-real coins; often associated with pirate treasure.
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SPANISH PIECES OF EIGHT ...
Pieces of Eight - A former Spanish coin with a face value of eight reales; the U.S. dollar was originally valued at and tied to eight reales.
Pitted - Having a rough surface due to loss of metal by corrosion ...
Pieces of eight were physically cut into eighths; each piece is one bit.
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A piece of metal being prepared for coinage before the final stamping.
2) That pieces of eight that are either more or less then seventene peny wait do pass at seaven Shilings per ounce Troy waight, in all payments of ten pounds & upward.
3) That Provinc penc be made of Copper & pass Curant for change of Mony.
Bit
Pieces of eight were physically cut into eights or “bits'. A 25c piece is sometimes referred to as "two bits".
Bit - Spanish pieces of eight were physically cut into eight pieces with each piece as one bit. The quarter dollar is sometimes referred to as two bits, so that an eighth of a dollar would be one bit or 12 and one-half cents.
Sometimes called "pieces of eight" or "bits". Red Book -The Official RED BOOK of US COINS. A price guide book on US coins and their values by R.S. Yeoman. Also called the Official Guide to United States Coins.
Before this, the accepted standard was the Spanish silver dollar with its fractional pieces of eight
Pieces of Eight
Album by Styx
Released September 1978
Recorded 1978 at Paragon Recording Studios, Chicago, IL
Genre Rock
Length 42 min 18 sec ...
At the turn of the century, Boulton was empowered to countermark almost four million Pieces of Eight, which would henceforth circulate at a rate of four shillings ninepence each.
The name "Spanish dollar" was used for a Spanish coin, the peso, worth eight reals (hence the nickname "pieces of eight"), which was widely circulated during the 18th century in the Spanish colonies in the New World.
"Pieces of Eight." There is your first hint, "Pieces of Eight." You
remember reading about the "Pieces of Eight" in Robert Louis Stevenson's
Treasure Island. Pirates....buried treasure....sailing the high seas.
Pirates in the Carribean called them 'pieces of eight', in Asia and the sub-continent they were 'piastres' while the Spanish called them 'pesos'. After 1728, they were known widely as milled dollars.
Silver ¥pieces of eight' ( reale de a ocho ) from the mints of Mexico City and Potosi came to dominate European coinage.
Although the accepted standard of value was the Spanish silver dollar and its fractional pieces of eight, English coins of pounds, shillings and pence also were in use throughout the young nation.
It is also referred to as two bits because two bits of a divided Spanish silver piece (pieces of eight) made up 1/4th of that coin. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The Draped Bust Quarter was produced from 1796 to 1807.
Romance? What about coins of the Spanish Main, the legendary pieces of eight and gold escudos of pirate fame?
12½ cents. Possibly because an early Spanish peso coins could be divided into eight real pieces. (ie. The "Pieces of eight" beloved by pirates and buccaneers.)
Two-bit (slang): ...
Despite the many finds, treasure hunters say there's still plenty of loot unrecovered. Most believe three to four ships haven't been found and, they say, two ships alone showed registered cargo of more than 220 tons in "pieces of eight, ...
pieces in particular comprised the majority of hard currency throughout the colonial period of what would later be the USA, and most contracts called for payment in "Spanish Milled Dollars" (the familiar eight-reales coins, or "pieces of eight").
At the latter they captured several galleons and treasure to the value of some 11,000,000 pieces of eight.
Owls thus became the world's first great trade currency, and they were followed in this role by among others Alexander the Great tetradrachms and staters, Roman denarii, Spanish American pieces of eight, Dutch lion dollars, ...
 See also: Silver, Coin, Gold, Dollar, Coinage
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