Читать книгу A Guide Book of United States Coins 2021 - R.S. Yeoman - Страница 8

The Spanish milled dollar, valued at 8 reales, and otherwise known as the Pillar dollar or piece of eight, has been given a place in romantic fiction unequaled by any other coin.

This time-honored piece and its fractional parts (one-half, one, two, and four reales) were the principal coins of the American colonists and were the forerunners of our own silver dollar and its fractional divisions. Thomas Jefferson even recommended to the Continental Congress on September 2, 1776, that the new country adopt the silver Spanish milled dollar as its monetary unit of value.

The coin shown above bears the mintmark for Mexico City. Similar pieces with other mintmarks were struck in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru. Average value for an 8 reales Pillar dollar of common date and mint is about $200 in Fine condition. Dates range from 1732 to 1772. Bust-type 8 reales dollars, made from 1772 to 1825, also circulated widely. These are valued at $100 in Very Fine condition. Note that many modern copies of the 8 reales exist. These are produced mostly as souvenirs and have little or no value.