Talk:Spanish dollar

"which is equilivant to 3550.16 troy grains or, 230.0465 metric grams"

Seven figures of precision? I really doubt that. It's misleading to use more figures in the conversion than were used in measuring the coin at the time of its currency. Just how accurate was the weight of a Spanish dollar at minting? After a bit of circulation? - David Gerard 20:20, May 1, 2004 (UTC)

Mistranslation?

The Spanish dollar (also known as the "piece of eight", the "real de a ocho", or the "eight real coin")

I think that's wrong right there. Real de a ocho should be something like "A Royal of Eight." Most people who don't know Spanish think real means REAL in english. Not always, real means Royal, as in El Camino Real means The Royal Road (Similarly to saying The King's Road) and not the REAL Road or anything to that effect. Anyways, I'm no expert on Spanish currency so it might be like that. Just putting it out there. 69.106.201.40 (talk) 04:53, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Bad Image

Someone needs to fix the image that's used. The obverse is backwards (you can see this best at the bottom where "REX PHILLIP" is in mirror image. The reverse is correct. I could create a new image from my collection, but the Spanish Dollar I have is in worse condition than the one used to make this image. -- Tall Girl 20:46, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Merge with Pieces of eight

Merge with Pieces of eight

-Removed immature vulgarity.

picture of a peso

Spain never minted a coin called peso. Visit URL [[1]] to understand the history behind the piece of eight or Ocho Reales. The article written by MIGUEL L. MUÑOZ, NLG cleary states the peso was an aka of the ocho reales, not a real coin.

That is exactly like saying that the United States has never minted a coin called a nickel because the word "nickel" does not appear on the U.S. "five cents coin." (I can just see myself going to a bank and asking for a "roll of five-cents coins." What kind of look will the teller give me?)

The peso has always been called a peso, back at least as far as the 1500s. That is the term used in accounts, official documents, legal documents, laws, etc. (I am a part-time historian and have read thousands of pages of Spanish and Mexican documents going back to the early 1500s.) How much more "real" does the term need to be?

I am also a bit put off by the insistence in this article on the term "Spanish dollar." The coins in question are specifically the Mexican peso, i.e. the peso (or "Ocho Reales coin" for those who insist on an anachronistic term that no one in reality ever used) that was minted in Mexico. The reason is that different mints in the Spanish Empire had different standards for weights and silver content. The coin that was adopted as a standard currency in the U.S., the Philippines, China, etc., was the Mexican Peso. This became particularly clear after Mexican independence, when the Mexican Peso remained a standard currency in the United States, at par with the U.S. dollar, until the 1850s, while Spanish currency declined in value. --Potosino 15:56, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Pieces of seven

Q: What do you call pieces of seven?

A: Parroty error! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.90.142.120 (talk) 14:57, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Rewrite

the following paragraph:

The Coinage Act of 1792 created the United States Mint, but the first U.S. dollars were not as popular as the Spanish dollars, which were heavier and were made of finer silver. An eight real coin nominally weighed 550.209 Spanish grains, which is 423.900 troy/avoirdupois grains (0.883125 troy ounce or 27.468 grams), .93055 fine: so contained 0.821791 troy ounce (25.560 grams) fine silver. Its weight and purity varied significantly between mints and over the centuries. In contrast, the Coinage Act of 1792 specified that the U.S. dollar would contain 371 4/16 grain (24.1 g) pure or 416 grain (27.0 g) standard silver.

... has too much irrelevant information. maybe it should be written like this:

An eight real coin nominally weighed 550.209 Spanish grains, which is 423.900 troy/avoirdupois grains (0.883125 troy ounce or 27.468 grams), .93055 fine: so contained 0.821791 troy ounce (25.560 grams) fine silver. Its weight and purity varied significantly between mints and over the centuries. (24.242.221.231 20:28, 26 April 2007 (UTC))

Division

I see "tick marks" all around the edges. Were these marks used as guides in cutting the coins into quarters or eighths? Too Old 18:01, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Inaccurate information

I have removed the entirely inaccurate paragraph which refers to a supposed "Spanish peso" being introduced in 1864. No such coin existed, the Spanish escudo was introduced in 1864.
Dove1950 (talk) 15:31, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Your edits are thinly veiled to push your POV that the Spanish Dollar was referred to as a peso prior to 1864. The original article does not claim the existence of a Spanish Peso at all. Your original research has, again, been reverted. 74.132.178.84 (talk) 18:12, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

There is ample evidence for the use of the Spanish word peso for the 8 reales coin. The fact is that this name was used across Latin America, as evidenced in the articles linked to in my edit. What do you think happened in 1864? I can assure you (and you can verify this for yourself at Spanish escudo) that what happened was that the escudo was introduced. Spain has never issued coins denominated in pesos. Please stop implying that it has by restoring this mistaken statement.
Dove1950 (talk) 18:22, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

It seems that the point has still to be driven home. None of the ideas that are being introduced by User:Jolliette and his/her alternate identities are valid. The peso was the name used for 8 reales coins. Claiming otherwise is simply false, as is claiming that the peseta was the basis for currencies in South America which were actually based on the peso. As can be seen in Talk:Mexican peso, Jolliette's maths leaves a lot to be desired, as does his/her history.
Dove1950 (talk) 22:37, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Ad hominem do not prove your points. I have listed my sources here, refute the sources and provide discussion, do not simply revert because you dislike me. -- Jolliette Alice Bessette, -- 00:07, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

You have not listed a single source to back up your claims. The only source you have added is to prove that Spain adopted the peseta in 1869, something that is completely irrelevant in this discussion. Where are your sources for the statements "While the term peso is sometimes used today to include the historic Spanish Dollar, this is incorrect.", "Prior to 1869, the Spanish currency was more accurately called the Reales, as this coin was the basis for the currency." and "The Spanish Peseta later became the basis for many of the currencies in the former Spanish colonies"? And, just for the record, I do not like your edits and your tactics. For all I know, you might be a nice person away from Wikipedia.
Dove1950 (talk) 21:39, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

The burden of proof lies on you to prove that the Peso was used. I have proved it did not become the Peseta till later, and Peseta is the basis for the term "Peso". -- Jolliette Alice Bessette, -- 19:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)