'Piece of Eight' Spanish 8 Reales Cob 1692 Coin

HANDMADE REPRODUCTION

'Pieces of eight' would have been common in every tavern, shipyard, open market, or shady back alley deal in the 17th century Caribbean. One of these giant silver coins was worth just over a weeks wages for an able sailor in the Royal Navy. Wear it as a pendant, spend it on rum, or perhaps buy yourself a new pistol.

These are uniquely bold statement pieces as pendants, capturing the imagination with azul Caribbean seas, home to lush emerald islands filled with treasure to be had in the Golden Age of Piracy!

8 reales cob coins, also known as “pieces of eight” were the largest denomination of silver coinage in the New World. Treasure galleons sailing between the Caribbean and Spain would be filled to the brim with pieces of eight - the pride of silver loot for any pirate or privateer. These hefty coins were hand struck in the New World, deep in the heart of South America. They have a handsomely rugged look to them and were never perfectly round or struck to capture every detail. They were hammered out in haste to legalize as much silver bullion for the crown as possible and to continuously fill the ever returning galleons headed for Spain.

These particular coins are marked by another story. They are dated 1692, the same year the most infamous pirate haven and slave trade center in the Caribbean - Port Royal, Jamaica, was forever swallowed up by the sea in a violent earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The infamous pirate, Captain Henry Morgan was governor of Jamaica, and found his home in Port Royal. With rampant piracy, and brothels far exceeding churches, the now sunken city had once garnered a reputation as ‘the wickedest city on earth’.

PRODUCT INFO
- Hot struck from ~26-27grams of 99.9 pure silver
- ~35-40mm in diameter
- Just like the originals, each is hand struck, so allow for slight irregularity and variance from the photos
- Each coin shipped outside of Canada is marked discreetly with a tiny punch on the back or side making it a legal 'replica'

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