June 25th, 2013 by Piper Smith
Ever wondered where our favorite pirate coins from The Pirates of the Caribbean saga came from? Pieces of Eight were actually the Spanish dollar known as peso de ocho and were silver coins, about 38 millimeters in diameter. They were minted in the Spanish Empire after the Spanish Currency Reform of 1497. It was a very popular form of currency (obviously it was the favorite of Captain Barbosa!) that was widely used by many countries internationally. In fact, many European states countersigned the Spanish dollar to use as their own form of currency. So usually when sunken treasure is recovered, there are lots of Pieces of Eight found among the wrecks!
Picture caption: Captain Jack Sparrow’s Piece of Eight hung from his head!
