Small Sliver of 177? Silver 8 Reales-I think

[VOL1266-X]

While scouting a new CW site for Dman and I to hunt last year, I found this sliver of silver coin near a spring along a road that was used for travel before, during, and after the Civil War. I believe it to be a piece of a 1770s Silver 8 Reales. I am not a coin buff and rarely coin hunt. I did match it up to a coin in a book with Mexican coins. I do know that Union Forces camped near the spring during the Civil War but did not recover many bullets in that area. Excuse the pics since I am still learning my new camera. If anyone can identify it as being something different than a piece of a 8 Reales, speak up please. Thanks for looking and Happy Hunting from "too cold to hunt" chilly Tennessee.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice silver piece! HH, Mike

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Adding to the info above. The 8 Reales came to be known also as the "Piece of Eight" in modern culture. Its weight was about 1 oz being made of silver thus it was equal to our dollar coin which of course came along later but circulated concurrently until the mid 1800's. The coins were sometimes cut into a wedge or pie shaped piece with eight being the typical number obtained from 1 coin. This piece was also referred to as a "bit" which equaled 12.5 cents thus the later term of "2 bits" for our quarter dollar. Please correct me if my memory is off.

You got it... dead on!!!

MB

 

[ModernMiner]

Super find VOL.
Congrats on the piece of eight.
-MM-

 

[minton7]

great going... isnt it neat to imagine how things got to where we found them

 

[tsgman]

Super find!

 

[romeo-1]

That is an AWESOME find!!! I have found two complete 8 reales but would love to find a true "piece of eight". Great history in the hand!!!

 

[Ed-NH]

Congrats on your piece!

 

[Green1]

How cool is that !!!!

 

[Dman]

Great find. How much do you charge for a guided tour?
Dman

 

[BuckleBoy]

I don't know what I'm looking at, but why is it cut like that School me, please

          Silver was valuable and I have been told Spanish coinage was 90% siver content. Coins were cut into pieces so the holder could buy smaller amounts of whatever. How would you make change in the U.S. otherwise. Somebody correct me if I have been misinformed but I belive that I read somewhere that Spanish silver was used in the U.S. until 1835. Some CW Soldiers brought Mexican coins home from the Mexican War. I found a small 1797 Reale in the CSA battle lines at a battlefield a few years back. They are common finds in CW sites. Thanks Craze and HH.

Circulated until 1856 I think...

An added incentive to cut the silver coins was to slightly devalue them in the process (save a little silver back from each cut). 

 

[treasurefiend]

Awesome find!!!!

 

[Ifoundit69]

Awesome find !

 

[Gilligan]

BEAUTIFUL FIND!

 

[johnreb1980]

Great find.