#PIECES OF EIGHT PLUS#

#PIECES OF EIGHT PLUS#

Across the center is Plus Ultra (Latin for “more beyond”) signifying that the Spanish empire extended well beyond the Pillars of Hercules. These coins have somewhat of a tic-tac-toe pattern in which The Pillars of Hercules (the legendary entrance to the Mediterranean) stand in the center the ocean waves are at the bottom of the coin. The date is found at the 11 0’clock positions. The mint mark and assayer’s initials are usually to the left of the shield and the denomination to the right. Finest Known offers the best selection of rare Renaissance coins, English Monarch coins and New World Spanish coins. It is a basic version of the Hapsburg shield. Within the cross there are two castles and two lions in opposing corners symbolizing Spain’s emergence as a nation following the unification of its earliest kingdoms, Castile (castle) and Leon (lion.) On the coin’s reverse there is either a shield or a set of pillars and waves.ĭepicted, is the shield of the reigning monarch. The Nine Pieces of Eight, often referred to as just pieces of eight, were an important symbol in Pirate Lore as the items owned by the Pirate Lords of the.

The Jerusalem cross is found on one side of all cobs, signifying the unity of Church and State. The name Cob comes from the Spanish word “cobo” meaning bar or ingot. Minted in the Spanish colonies from the mid-1500s through the late 1700s, these coins were cut from a bar (ingot) of silver and then were clipped to the proper weight (1/2, 1, 2, 4 or 8 reales.) As they were hand-hammered in a haphazard fashion, the legend (lettering around the periphery) is rarely legible and they are usually an odd shape, making each cob unique.

Pieces of eight