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Message:: [QUOTE="Clinker, post: 1229152, member: 6229"]Few coins can match the history and romance of the Piece-of-Eight, commonly known as the Spanish 8 Reales, or Spanish Milled Dollar. 　As you know (from The Official Red Book - A Guide Book of United States Coins) this large silver coin was widely used throughout the Americas. Its wide acceptance made it a favorite of both pirates and merchants. It was used throughout the colonies before the American Revolution, and was the basis of the United States Dollar. The coin continued to be legal tender in the United States until 1857.　　 As you know, what history refers to as the Louisiana Territory, was called New France until 1762. In 1762 Spain gained control of the Orleans and Louisiana Territory from France by treaty, over objections of the residents who had nothing to say in the matter. Following the American Revolution there was increasing rebellion in the territory caused by restrictions Spain placed on trade with the United States. Soon a deluge of unbacked paper currency flooded the terrritory, and the Libertarion ideals of the American Revolution fired the hearts and minds of the people . In 1784 King Carlos III of Spain dispatched the brigantine El Cazador, loaded with newly minted silver coins (450,000 pesos worth) from the Mexico City mint to New Orleans, in an effort to redeem the paper currency and boost the local economy. Alas, the ship was lost at sea. Perhaps it was attacked by pirates or lost in a storm (most historians believe a gale). The loss was devastating to both Louisiana’s economy and Spain's ability to profit from the territory. Further efforts by the Spanish Crown to sustain Louisiana failed, and in 1800, Spain ceded Louisiana back to France in exchange for some minor European considerations. Three years (1803) later France sold Louisiana to the United States for $15 million dollars. The Louisiana Purchase opened the floodgates of westward expansion for the young United States.　　On August 2, 1993 the butterfish trawler Captain, Jerry Murphy, was fishing on board a vessel named MISTAKE some 50 miles S of Louisiana when the trawling net got hung up 300 feet down. The crew retrieved the net to examine it for damage when several silver coins pelted the deck. The coin denominations included 8 Reales (Spanish Milled Dollars), 2 Reales (Silver Quarters), 1 Reales (Silver Dimes) and the "star" of the treasure, the ½ Silver Reales. All of the coins bore the mark of the Mexican mint and date 1783.　　Here's photos of a salvaged 1873-Mo 1/2 Real courtesy of lostgalleon.com:　　<a href="http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product474.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product474.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product474.html</a>　　Here's images of a recovered 1 Real courtesy of lostgalleon.com:　　<a href="http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product475.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product475.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.lostgalleon.com/shop/product475.html</a>　　Here's a photo of a salvaged 2 Reales courtesy of New World Treasures:　　<a href="http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11150.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11150.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11150.jpg</a>　　3 photos is of actual 8 Reales pieces recovered from the shipwreck:　First photo courtesy of web.me.com:　<a href="http://web.me.com/hh4pdd/High_Hopes/FUN-raiser/Pages/Silver_8_Reale.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://web.me.com/hh4pdd/High_Hopes/FUN-raiser/Pages/Silver_8_Reale.html" rel="nofollow">http://web.me.com/hh4pdd/High_Hopes/FUN-raiser/Pages/Silver_8_Reale.html#0</a>　Second coin courtesy of World Educational Coin:　<a href="http://www.vcoins.com/world/educationalcoin/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=651" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.vcoins.com/world/educationalcoin/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=651" rel="nofollow">http://www.vcoins.com/world/educationalcoin/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=651</a>　3rd photo courtesy of New World Treasures:　<a href="http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11034.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11034.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/11034.jpg</a>　　Hope you enjoyed this numismatic history trivia...　Clinker[/QUOTE]

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