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Pieces of Eight:
Speak of pirates and what comes to mind? Peg legs? Parrots? Pieces of Eight? Although the first two are readily identifiable, the latter produces a bit of confusion. What were these mysterious little pieces of pirate lore? Quite simply, pieces of eight were silver coins manufactured in the Americas and carried in ships back to Spain.
Spanish silver coins were known as pesos (literally, "weights") and were valued at eight reales ("royals"). These were often cut into eight "bits" in order to make change, thus the origin of the term "pieces of eight" for the coin itself. One quarter and "two bits" (slang for twenty-five cents) come from the sectioning of these coins into fourths.
Coinage is interesting for many reasons, not the least of which is the role it plays in the material culture of society. Modern coins -- such as those in your pocket or purse -- are usually made from base metals and have values that are predetermined by government fiat, or "decree". In other words, the government, not the individual, decides what money is worth. Because the change you are carrying has little intrinsic value (remembers, it's made from a low quantity of "base" metal), it usually is more of a "token" than a true coin.
Pieces of eight, however, were true coins, at least as monetary scholars would describe them. They were made of a valuable, even precious, material; they were fabricated according to a standardized weight and purity; and they were marked to identify the authority that guaranteed their content.
So what did the stuff of pirate dreams look like? One side, the obverse, bore the Spanish coat of arms. On the other side (reverse) appeared the Jerusalem Cross, or the Pillars of Hercules, depending on the date of production. The latter, in the form of two columns, represented the Strait of Gibraltar. These towering symbols, along with the words Et Plus Ultra ("and even beyond"), heralded the pride and hubris of the Spanish Empire as it extended outside the confines of the Mediterranean world.
Because Spanish vessels -- whether they journeyed from Manila to Mexico or from the New World back to Europe -- carried such precious treasures and sailed on regularized schedules and predictable routes, they were easy targets for pirates and privateers. |