UnderMiner
Silver Member
- Jul 27, 2014
- 3,782
- 9,639
- 🥇 Banner finds
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- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Excalibur II, Ace 250
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Here is some historic treasure coins I have been collecting a little box. I find the history of these coins far more interesting than their monetary value so I have written some of their historic descriptions below.
The gold coin is a 1772 1/2 Escudo from Spain, it was worth the same as a Spanish silver Piece of 8 and this standard would be the basis of the American Gold dollar coin later in the following century.
The big silver coin at the bottom far left is a 1696 English Silver Crown of King William III.
Fun Facts
1) It was struck from silver melted down from older English silver coins during the Great Re-coinage Act of 1696.
2)This act sought to remove the older hammered coins from circulation and replace them all with milled coins (which had patterned edging as a security feature) in the belief that this would help eliminate the cutting and shaving of coins by the public (it had limited success).
3)The 1696 Re-coinage act is the reason hammered English coins are so hard to find, they were recycled!
In the center is a big Spanish Piece of 8 from 1762 minted in Mexico, it features the double globes over a wave pattern which represented Spain's control over the sea, the New world, and the Old world (basically saying they control the entire world), this coin would be used as the basis of the
American silver dollar coin later in the century.
Fun facts:
1)To this day the American Stock Exchange still uses 1/8th-dollar denominations for the pricing of equities, this is because it was originally traded with Pieces of 8. The US Dollar sign likely originated from the pillar and sash next to the globes $oo$.
2)Spanish Pieces of 8 and their smaller denominations were legally recognized as US legal tender in the USA well into the middle of the 19th century and continued circulating well after that, many becoming smooth unrecognizable silver disks devoid of features.
On top of the 8 Reale is a Queen Anne silver 3 Pence from 1703 and a Spanish silver 1 Reale cob coin.
Below the Queen Anne 3 Pence is the quintessential pirate coin - a 1759 Spanish 'Pistareen' 2 Reale.
Fun facts:
1) If you were to cut the Pistareen coin according to the lines of the cross on it, it would make 4 equally sized pieces of silver worth 1/2 Reale each - which was the smallest and most widely used unit of silver currency. This was not the purpose of the cross but most examples of cut Spanish silver go by these lines, so people certainly were fond of exploiting it.
2) A 1/4 of a Pistareen was enough money to buy a pint of grog, this was likely why it was so often cut into quarters, that and to make quick change!
To the right of the Pistareen is a very special coin - a 1745 English 'Lima' Shilling which was made from plundered Spanish Treasure captured by British privateers during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Fun facts:
1) The entire history of the plundered 'Lima' treasure is not 100% known but it is believed to have originated from 2 treasure ships that were captured, the Louis Erasmus and the Marquis d'Antin. A story states how one of these ships had all its masts completely torn away by cannon fire and an English ship towed this captured prize all the way back to England using chains tied to its bow.
There are some other really nice coins in there as well, but I can only write so much about them.
The gold coin is a 1772 1/2 Escudo from Spain, it was worth the same as a Spanish silver Piece of 8 and this standard would be the basis of the American Gold dollar coin later in the following century.
The big silver coin at the bottom far left is a 1696 English Silver Crown of King William III.
Fun Facts
1) It was struck from silver melted down from older English silver coins during the Great Re-coinage Act of 1696.
2)This act sought to remove the older hammered coins from circulation and replace them all with milled coins (which had patterned edging as a security feature) in the belief that this would help eliminate the cutting and shaving of coins by the public (it had limited success).
3)The 1696 Re-coinage act is the reason hammered English coins are so hard to find, they were recycled!
In the center is a big Spanish Piece of 8 from 1762 minted in Mexico, it features the double globes over a wave pattern which represented Spain's control over the sea, the New world, and the Old world (basically saying they control the entire world), this coin would be used as the basis of the
American silver dollar coin later in the century.
Fun facts:
1)To this day the American Stock Exchange still uses 1/8th-dollar denominations for the pricing of equities, this is because it was originally traded with Pieces of 8. The US Dollar sign likely originated from the pillar and sash next to the globes $oo$.
2)Spanish Pieces of 8 and their smaller denominations were legally recognized as US legal tender in the USA well into the middle of the 19th century and continued circulating well after that, many becoming smooth unrecognizable silver disks devoid of features.
On top of the 8 Reale is a Queen Anne silver 3 Pence from 1703 and a Spanish silver 1 Reale cob coin.
Below the Queen Anne 3 Pence is the quintessential pirate coin - a 1759 Spanish 'Pistareen' 2 Reale.
Fun facts:
1) If you were to cut the Pistareen coin according to the lines of the cross on it, it would make 4 equally sized pieces of silver worth 1/2 Reale each - which was the smallest and most widely used unit of silver currency. This was not the purpose of the cross but most examples of cut Spanish silver go by these lines, so people certainly were fond of exploiting it.
2) A 1/4 of a Pistareen was enough money to buy a pint of grog, this was likely why it was so often cut into quarters, that and to make quick change!
To the right of the Pistareen is a very special coin - a 1745 English 'Lima' Shilling which was made from plundered Spanish Treasure captured by British privateers during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Fun facts:
1) The entire history of the plundered 'Lima' treasure is not 100% known but it is believed to have originated from 2 treasure ships that were captured, the Louis Erasmus and the Marquis d'Antin. A story states how one of these ships had all its masts completely torn away by cannon fire and an English ship towed this captured prize all the way back to England using chains tied to its bow.
There are some other really nice coins in there as well, but I can only write so much about them.
