Peso

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Spanish pesos
Forerunners of the U.S. dollar
Spanish pesos were cut into halves, quarters, and eighths and were known as "pieces of eight." Click on any image for a closer view.
Silver peso of King Philip V of Spain, dated 1739, depicting the Pillars of Hercules on the obverse.
Silver peso of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, dated 1753.
Silver peso of King Carlos III of Spain, dated 1776. By the time of the minting of this coin, the Spanish Government moved the Pillars of Hercules from the obverse to the reverse.
Silver peso of King Carlos IV of Spain, dated 1806.
Silver peso of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, dated 1821.

The peso is a unit of currency. In Spanish “peso” means weight. It was the main Spanish coin of colonial times and it was worth eight reales. This is the famous Spanish dollar or “piece of eight” and later became called the peso. The peso coin weighed 27 grams and was of 92 per cent pure silver. It was the template for the coins of the United States and one silver dollar equaled exactly one peso. The following articles contain more information (list may not contain all historical pesos):

Current

Obsolete

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