Introduction of Spanish dollar

The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight, was a silver coin of the Spanish Empire, whose standard form was the eight-real coin. Its introduction followed monetary reforms by the Catholic Monarchs. Minted in huge numbers from the silver of mines in Mexico and Potosí in what is now Bolivia, it became the first truly global currency, widely used in Europe, the Americas and Asia, and in China, where silver was in great demand. It served as legal tender in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century, and it was the model for the American dollar, whose name and sign derive from it. Its use in trade, and its theft by pirates, made it a symbol of the age.

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