The Spanish Milled Dollar, as you probably know, circulated freely as a world coin including colonial America. It was accepted throughout the colonies including the Canadian Provinces and Northwest territories. It is the basis of The United States dollar and the Canadian dollar. It remained a "legal tender" coin in the U.S. until an Act of the United States Congress discontinued the practice in 1857. The Spanish Milled Dollar is also known as a "piece of eight", an "8 Reale" or a "Pillar Dollar". The "Pillar Dollar" is the first coin pictured in the Red Book. Beware! If it is your intention to own one or more of these silver "pieces of eight" make sure the coin/s you purchase is/are dated from 1732 through 1771. The reverse of the Spanish Dollars, that were legal tender coins in the U.S.A. and Canada, had a two-hemispheres world map supporting a Spanish crown positioned between the Pillars of Hercules, thus the name "Pillar Dollar". Here's a photo courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagehilip_V_Coin.jpg Clinker
