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Gold escudos (worth 16 reales) were also issued. The coins circulated throughout Spain's colonies and beyond, with the eight-real piece, known in English as the Spanish dollar, becoming an international standard and spawning, among other currencies, the United States dollar. A reform in 1737 set the silver real at two and half billon reales ...
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (Spanish: real de a ocho, dólar, peso duro, peso fuerte or peso), is a silver coin of approximately 38 mm (1.5 in) diameter worth eight Spanish reales.
The silver 8-real coin was known as the Spanish dollar (as the coin was minted to the specifications of the thaler of the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg monarchy), peso, duro or the famous piece of eight. Spanish dollars minted between 1732 and 1773 are also often referred to as columnarios. The portrait variety from 1772 and later are ...
Spanish American gold coins were minted in one-half, one, two, four, and eight escudo denominations, with each escudo worth around two Spanish dollars or $2. The two-escudo (or $4 coin) was the "doubloon" or " pistole ", and the large eight-escudo (or $16) was a "quadruple pistole".
The first escudo was a gold coin introduced in 1535/1537, with coins denominated in escudos issued until 1833. It was initially worth 16 reales . When different reales were introduced, the escudo became worth 16 reales de plata in 1642, then 16 reales de plata fuerte or 40 reales de vellón from 1737.
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Silver coins of the 1572 type were minted with PHILIPVS IV and a 1/2-real cob was added to the usual 1, 2, 4, and 8-real denominations. There were major gold deposits in Colombia; a mint opened at Santa Fe de Bogotá in 1620, and it produced the first gold coins (cobs) in Spanish America in 1622.
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