Santo Johnny
 SANTO & JOHNNY - SLEEP WALK - CANADIAN AMERICAN - Ex. US $23.51 
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 Santo & Johnny: In the Still of the Night Canadian American SCALP 1014 stereo US $18.00
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 ukukuku US $99.99
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 yhbrcd US $99.99
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Pieces of Eight is an expression that evokes... what?
Pirates!
And Treasure!
This has been going on for some time. The lure and lore of these heavy old silver coins is a literary cliché. Inspired by the coin croaking parrot of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" or even the current crop of Johnny Depp "Pirates of The Caribbean" adventures, the Spanish colonial 8 reale piece is a provocative subject for a broad range of coin collectors.
What They Were
Just to get off on the right foot, a piece of eight is silver, a doubloon is gold. Both were produced in the mints of New Spain, as the Spanish colonial outposts in America were collectively known. Although coinage in lesser denominations began at the Casa De Moneda (the mint in Mexico City) in 1536, the eight reale coin was not produced in the Western Hemisphere until 1572 at the earliest.
Spanish coinage was based on the reale. Coins of eight, four, two, one, and one-half reale pieces were produced by twelve mints in the Americas, including Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Lima, La Plata, Potosi, Panama, Cartagena, Bogota, Cuzco, Guatemala, Santiago, and Popayan.
Why They Were Made
Coinage of the Spanish colonies was evidence of Spain's success in locating and exploiting rich New World deposits of gold and silver. The fact that they actually coined a considerable amount of these metals before shipment to Spain reflects the lower cost of indigenous labor, and the pressing needs of the Spanish throne to move coins immediately into circulation to pay its growing expenses.
The Pirate and Treasure Connections
Valuable shipments of coins and bullion back to Spain were undertaken every two years. Treasure fleets consisted of many heavily armed, but slow moving, ships. The risk to pirates was far outweighed by the enormous value of the cargo.
Independent by nature, it is also true that many pirates were unofficially in the service of Spain's adversaries, notably England. Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins were early "privateers" (a euphemism for "pirates".)
But pirates and treasure are not the whole story on pieces of eight. Read more in Part II. And take a look at my web site at http://www.valuable-coin-stories.com/Lost-Treasure-Story.html for more about treasure coins in general. The page at http://www.valuable-coin-stories.com/1715-treasure-fleet.html will give you a blow-by-blow account of the loss of one of the largest Spanish treasure fleets, but this time not to pirates!
I've collected coins since age 11 -- so, more than half a century. Coins have been a pleasant distraction over the years. Though I've never been a coin dealer, I have occasionally sold a coin or two at a nice profit, when the market was right. These experiences have taught me a bit about coin value in the marketplace. But I have to say that my greatest pleasure with coins has been the hooks they have to history and other areas of learning. And, I can never quite get beyond the feeling that, if any of my coins could talk, the stories would be priceless!
Whats On My YouTube Today?
Santo & Johnny, Sleepwalk, 1959
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