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Shipwrecked Piece of Eight - SOLD 20g Silver Spanish Real

Shipwrecked Piece of Eight - SOLD 20g Silver Spanish Real

The Santa Maria de la Consolación, a flagship of the Spanish navy, left Lima in April of 1681 carrying 350 sailors and 146,000 pesos worth of minted silver coins. Later that year, the galleon ran aground at Isla Santa Clara off the coast of Chile, scattering its bounty of 100,000 Spanish dollars to the seabed. It is said that the Consolación wrecked while fleeing infamous pirate Bartholomew Sharp, but there is little evidence for this bit of pirate lore.

This specimen is a 20g silver dollar recovered from the wreck of the Consolación. The real de a ocho, or Spanish "pieces of eight", was created in 1497 and went on to become the world's first global currency. The symbol of Hapsburg Shield and Florenzada Cross are visible on the faces.

These silver coins were ubiquitous for traders between the Old and New Worlds. From their inception and up into the 19th century, they were a commonly used trading tool among ports on either side of the Atlantic. Their nickname comes from the practice of splitting the coin into eighths, which divided the inherent value of the silver.



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