8.00 Real, Mexican 8 Reales, 1770
date: label: Date made
content: 1770
name: label: ruler
content: Charles III
notes: label: Description
content: The Mexican eight-real coin, known variously as a Spanish dollar, pillar dollar, or piece of eight, was the most widely used coin in the world by the time the United States was founded. The American dollar was based upon these coins, and they remained legal tender in the US until 1857. It is possible that the two vertical bars in the dollar sign are derived from the pillars seen on this coin – the Pillars of Hercules.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Mexico
label: place of issue
content: Mexico
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1992.0061.0498
label: catalog number
content: 1992.0061.0498
label: accession number
content: 1992.0061
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silver (overall metal)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis measurement)
label: Physical Description
content: struck (overall production method)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 39 mm; x 1 9/16 in