Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a double escudo, the gold unit.
Pistole - Also pistol, pistoll. A name formerly applied to certain foreign gold coins; sometimes synonymous with pistolet. Especially from c1600, given to a Spanish gold coin worth from 16s 6d to 18s.
1) That Pistoles of fouer peny waight Eaight grains do pass Curant in all payments for twenty fouer [amended to twenty six] Shilings, And that small pieces of fforaigne Gold waying two peny waight Six grains [amended to two pennyweight four grains], ...
Peyton's reputation ascended again in 1751 when the newly appointed Virginia Governor Dinwiddie decided to charge a Pistole, a Spanish coin worth about 20 shillings, each time he certified a land patent with his signature.
 See also: Shilling, Denomination, Crown, Monetary, Dollar
  
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