Doubloon

Spanish gold 4-doubloon coin (8 escudos) stamped as minted in 1798

The doubloon (from Spanish doblón, meaning "double"), was a two-escudo or 32-reales gold coin, weighing 6.77 grams (0.218 troy ounces). Doubloons were minted in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Nueva Granada. The term was first used to describe the golden excelente either because of its value of two ducats or because of the double portrait of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Doubloons marked "2 S" are equivalent to $4 in US gold coins and were traded in that manner. Small 1/2 Escudo coins (similar to a US $1 gold piece) have no value on them but were worth a Spanish Milled Dollar in trade.

In Spain, doubloons were current up to the middle of the 19th century. Isabella II of Spain replaced an escudo-based coinage with decimal reales in 1859, and replaced the 6.77 gram doblón with a new heavier doblón worth 100 reales and weighing 8.3771 grams (0.268 troy ounces). The last Spanish doubloons (showing the denomination as 80 reales) were minted in 1849. After their independence, the former Spanish colonies Mexico, Peru and Nueva Granada continued to mint doubloons.

Doubloons have also been minted in Portuguese colonies, where they went by the name dobrão, with the same meaning.

In Europe the doubloon became the model for several other gold coins, including the French Louis d'or, the Italian doppia, the Swiss duplone, the Northern German pistole, and the Prussian Friedrich d'or.

Popular culture

• In New Orleans, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama, "doubloons," usually made of aluminum, have been thrown by Mardi Gras carnival krewes since 1959, when the Rex Krewe reportedly first used them.

• "Doubloon" is used as a slang term for a poker chip.

• Moby-Dick includes a chapter entitled The Doubloon.

• In Raymond Chandler's 3rd Phillip Marlow novel, "The High Window, Marlow is initially hired by Mrs. Murdock to locate a coin owned by her late husband, the "Brasher Doubloon", every owner of which has been murdered.

• In the first Hardy Boys novel from 1927, The Tower Treasure, Applegate's treasure is a chest of "gold doubloons." This theme reoccurred in the Disney serial, part of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955 "The Hardy Boys and the Applegate Treasure" in which "gold doubloons" are extensively featured.

• "Jake and the Never Land Pirates", the Disney Junior television show, the crew is searching for "gold doubloons".

• In the board game Puerto Rico, doubloons are used as currency.

• In the book "Biggles Flies West" by Captain W. E. Johns, the story revolves around a cursed doubloon.

• In the television series "Suits" Harvey Spector makes a joke about breaking into Fort Knox in order to return some stolen "Doubloons"

• In the film The Goonies, Chunk finds a Doubloon.

• In the Friends episode 'The One With The Prom Video', Monica ridicules Chandler's embarrassing gold bracelet which he got from Joey by teasing him that it "must have cost [him] quite a few doubloons".

See also

• Spanish dollar also known as a piece of eight.