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50-720: The existence of trade dollars came about because of the popularity of the silver Spanish dollar in the Far East , such as in China , East Asia , and the East Indies . Following the establishment of Spanish Philippines , Manila (in the modern area of Intramuros ) became an entrepôt for Chinese goods in one direction and Spanish silver dollar , from across the Pacific to the Spanish-held mints and silver mines of Mexico , Peru , and Bolivia , in

100-603: A Hong Kong coin produced until 1935. Those with the mint mark "B" were produced at the Bombay Mint; others, marked "C", were struck in Calcutta . Those with no mint mark were produced in London. The mint mark "C" can be found in the ground between the left foot of Britannia and the base of the shield, while the mint mark "B" is located in the center prong of the trident. The 1921-B dollar was struck but never released for circulation, and only

150-528: A direct result of the First (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–1860), which broke out when Chinese authorities tried to stop Britain from smuggling opium into the country. The loser, China, had to open up a number of ports to British trade and residence, and cede Hong Kong to Britain . In the decades that followed, merchants and adventurers flocked to these areas, and international trade flourished. Foreign banks were established and large silver coins from all over

200-645: A lesser extent in Mexico (for example, at Taxco and Zacatecas ), and to silver from Spain's possessions throughout the Americas, mints in Mexico and Peru also began to strike the coin. The main New World mints for Spanish dollars were at Potosí , Lima , and Mexico City (with minor mints at Bogotá , Popayán , Guatemala City , and Santiago ), and silver dollars from these mints could be distinguished from those minted in Spain by

250-540: A limited number of 1934-B and 1935-B coins were released. In some cases, the date on an already manufactured coin die was altered. As this could not be done without leaving a trace of the former date, some coins show traces of an older date below the clearly visible date. These include 1897-B over 1896-B, 1900-B over 1894-B, 1901-B over 1900-B, 1909-B over 1908-B, 1904-B over 1898-B, 1903-B over 1902-B, 1908-B over 1903-B, 1904-B over 1903-B, 1929-B over 1901-B, 1908-B over 1907-B, and 1910-B over 1900-B. The British trade dollar

300-605: A merchant ship under full sail in the background. On the reverse is an arabesque design with the Chinese symbol for longevity in the center, and the denomination in two languages – Chinese and Jawi Malay. The British trade dollar was designed by George William De Saulles and minted from 1895 for Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements. But after the Straits dollar was introduced to the Straits Settlements in 1903, it became exclusively

350-622: A treasury assay of the average fine silver content of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. The term cob was used in Ireland and the British colonies to mean a piece of eight or a Spanish-American dollar, because Spanish gold and silver coins were irregularly shaped and crudely struck before the machine-milled dollar was introduced in 1732. After the introduction of the Guldengroschen in Austria in 1486,

400-533: A varied practice, which included the execution of large labels for Manchester goods. De Saulles came to London in 1884, and worked for John H. Pinches, the die-engraver, then in Oxenden Street, Haymarket. In 1888 he returned to Birmingham and worked for Joseph Moore , the medallist. During 1892 De Saulles was in London at the Royal Mint , on the death of Leonard Charles Wyon the chief engraver. In January 1893 he

450-743: A very tempting target for seagoing pirates. In the Far East , it also arrived in the form of the Philippine peso in the Philippines as part of the Spanish East Indies of the Spanish colonial empire through the Manila galleons that transported Mexican silver peso to Manila in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade , where it would be exchanged for Philippine and Chinese goods , since silver

500-590: The Argentine , Bolivian , Chilean , Colombian , Costa Rican , Cuban , Dominican , Ecuadorian , Guatemalan , Honduran , Mexican , Nicaraguan , Paraguayan , Philippine , Puerto Rican , Peruvian , Salvadoran , Uruguayan , and Venezuelan pesos. Of these, "peso" remains the name of the official currency in the Philippines, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. In

550-521: The Hong Kong dollar , to the same specifications. The first Chinese yuan coins had the same specification as a Spanish dollar, leading to a continuing equivalence in some respects between the names "yuan" and "dollar" in the Chinese language. Other currencies also derived from the dollar include the Japanese yen , Korean won , Philippine peso , Malaysian ringgit , French Indochinese piastre , etc. since it

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600-512: The "zhù" part of those names referred to the two pillars in the Spanish coat of arms . In modern pop culture and fiction, pieces of eight are most often associated with the popular notion of pirates . George William De Saulles George William de Saulles (4 February 1862 – 21 July 1903) was a British medallist . He designed the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom and its colonies under Queen Victoria and King Edward VII . He

650-779: The 16th century, Count Hieronymus Schlick of Bohemia began minting a silver coin known as a Joachimsthaler , named after Joachimsthal , the valley in the Ore Mountains where the silver was mined. Joachimsthaler was later shortened to thaler or taler , a word that eventually found its way into many European languages including the Spanish tálero and English as dollar . The Joachimsthaler weighed 451 Troy grains (29.2 g; 0.94 ozt) of silver. These coins' success led to similar thaler s being minted in Burgundy and France and their ultimate succession by

700-630: The Americas, and the Far East, it became the first world currency by the 16th century. The Spanish dollar was the coin upon which the original United States dollar was based (at 0.7735 troy ounces or 24.06 grams), and it remained legal tender in the United States until the Coinage Act of 1857 . Many other currencies around the world, such as the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan , were initially based on

750-530: The British Honduras coins 1894; the British dollar for India, 1895, and the Straits Settlements dollar, 1903. He made the last Great Seal for Queen Victoria (1899), and many designs for official seals for the colonies. At the time of his death he was preparing the models for the great seals of the United Kingdom and those of Ireland and Scotland, subsequently executed by Frank Bowcher. He was an exhibitor at

800-867: The Middle East, in the Dutch East Indies and West Indies, and in the Thirteen Colonies of North America. For the English North American colonists, however, the Spanish peso or "piece of eight" has always held first place, and this coin was also called the "dollar" as early as 1581. After the Declaration of American Independence , the United States dollar was introduced in 1792 at par with this coin at 371.25 grains = 0.7735 troy ounces = 24.0566 g. Alexander Hamilton arrived at these numbers based on

850-606: The Pillars of Hercules design on the reverse. The dollar or peso was divided into 8 reales in Spanish Latin America until the 19th century when the peso was divided into 100 centavos. However, monetary turbulence in Spain beginning under the reign of King Philip II resulted in the dollar being subdivided as follows in Spain only: Spain's adoption of the peseta in 1869 and its joining the Latin Monetary Union meant

900-586: The Spanish pieces of eight that had been brought to the Orient from Mexico on the Manila Galleons. It was initially on a silver standard of 1 piastre = 24.4935 grams pure silver. This was reduced to 24.3 grams in 1895. The Japanese Trade Dollar was a dollar coin, issued from 1875 to 1877. It was minted of 27.22 g of silver with a fineness of .900 (90%). The Yen coin had 26.96 g of silver at that time, and otherwise nearly identical in design to

950-402: The Spanish dollar and other 8-real coins. Most theories trace the origin of the "$ " symbol , which originally had two vertical bars, to the pillars of Hercules wrapped in ribbons that appear on the reverse side of the Spanish dollar. The term peso was used in Spanish to refer to this denomination, and it became the basis for many of the currencies in the former Spanish viceroyalties, including

1000-679: The Spanish-Mexican coins so long trusted and valued in China. To control the money supply in French Indochina in 1885, the French introduced a new silver Piastre de commerce and associated subsidiary coinage throughout the entire Indo-Chinese colonies in order to increase monetary stability. The piastre was initially equivalent to the Mexican peso . The piastre was therefore a direct lineal descendant of

1050-403: The colony in exchange for their cargo. In 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie made creative use of £10,000 in Spanish dollars sent by the British government. To make it difficult to take the coins out of the colony, and to double their number, the centres of the coins were punched out. The punched centre, known as the "dump", was valued at 15 pence , and the outer rim, known as the " holey dollar ",

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1100-422: The concept of a large silver coin with high purity (sometimes known as "specie" coinage) eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. Monetary reform in Spain brought about the introduction of an 8-real (or 1-peso) coin in 1497, minted to the following standards- This was supplemented in 1537 by the gold escudo , minted at 68 to a mark of gold 0.917 fine (fineness reduced to 0.906 in 1742 and 0.875 in 1786). It

1150-655: The dies for the new issue of coins of Queen Victoria in 1893, designed by Thomas Brock . He designed the Britannia reverse of the English bronze coins of 1895, and the issue of English coins made in 1902 after the accession of Edward VII. His signature on the coins is "De S." De Saulles also designed and engraved the dies for colonial coins, such as the British Trade Dollar , the British East Africa copper coins, 1897;

1200-464: The domestic silver dollar ( Seated Liberty Dollars and Morgan Dollars ) of the time. It is 4 grains heavier than the Mexican peso ; however, the peso is .903 silver. The coin was designed by William Barber , the mint's chief engraver. More trade dollars were minted in San Francisco than Carson City and Philadelphia combined. San Francisco was closest both to the source of the silver as well as

1250-448: The eagle on the trade dollar's reverse looks quite similar to the peso's. [REDACTED] Media related to Trade dollars at Wikimedia Commons Spanish dollar#Asia The Spanish dollar , also known as the piece of eight ( Spanish : real de a ocho , dólar , peso duro , peso fuerte or peso ), is a silver coin of approximately 38 mm (1.5 in) diameter worth eight Spanish reales . It

1300-568: The early 16th century, and was spread partially by dint of the vast silver output of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. More important, however, was that the Spanish dollar, from the 16th to the 19th century, was relatively the most stable and least debased coin in the Western world. The Coinage Act of 1792 specified that the U.S. dollar would contain 371.25 grains (24.057 g) pure or 416 grains (26.96 g) standard silver. This specification

1350-437: The effective end of the last vestiges of the Spanish dollar in Spain itself. However, the 5-peseta coin (or duro ) was slightly smaller and lighter but was also of high purity (90%) silver. In the 1990s, commemorative 2,000-peseta coins were minted, similar in size and weight to the dollar. Following independence in 1821, Mexican coinage of silver reales and gold escudos followed that of Spanish lines until decimalization and

1400-564: The export demand for U.S. dollars. Before the American Revolution , owing to British mercantilist policies, there was a chronic shortage of British currency in Britain's colonies. Trade was often conducted with Spanish dollars that had been obtained through illicit trade with the West Indies . Spanish coinage was legal tender in the United States until the Coinage Act of 1857 discontinued

1450-401: The introduction of the peso worth 8 reales or 100 centavos. It continued to be minted to Spanish standards throughout the 19th century, with the peso at 27.07 grams (0.955 oz) of 0.9028 fine silver, and the escudo at 3.383 grams (0.1193 oz) of 0.875 fine gold. The Mexican peso or 8-real coin continued to be a popular international trading coin throughout the 19th century. After 1918,

1500-561: The leading specie coin circulating in America was the Spanish silver dollar, defined as consisting of 387 grains of pure silver. The dollar was divided into "pieces of eight," or "bits," each consisting of one-eighth of a dollar. Spanish dollars came into the North American colonies through lucrative trade with the West Indies. The Spanish silver dollar had been the world's outstanding coin since

1550-647: The long-lived Reichsthaler of the Holy Roman Empire , used from the 16th to 19th centuries, of 25.984 g (0.8354 ozt) pure silver. The Netherlands also introduced its own dollars in the 16th century: the Burgundian Cross Thaler ( Bourgondrische Kruisdaalder ), the German-inspired Rijksdaalder , and the Dutch lion dollar ( leeuwendaalder ). The latter coin was used for Dutch trade in

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1600-447: The other. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade , led from the 16th Century onwards to the wide circulation of "pieces of eight" as a standard of trade in the Far East . The high regard in which these coins came to be held, led to the minting of the silver Chinese yuan , a coin designed to resemble the Spanish one. These Chinese " dragon dollars " not only circulated in China, but together with original coins of Spanish-Mexican origin became

1650-454: The peso was reduced in size and fineness, with further reductions in the 1940s and 1950s. However, 2- (1921), 5- (1947) and 10-peso (1955) coins were minted during the same period with sizes and fineness similar to the old peso. After the colony of New South Wales was founded in Australia in 1788, it ran into the problem of a lack of coinage, particularly since trading vessels took coins out of

1700-530: The practice. The pricing of equities on U.S. stock exchanges in 1 ⁄ 8 -dollar denominations persisted until the New York Stock Exchange converted first to pricing in sixteenths of a dollar on 24 June 1997, and then in 2001 to decimal pricing. Long tied to the lore of piracy , "pieces of eight" were manufactured in the Spanish Americas and transported in bulk back to Spain, making them

1750-611: The preferred currency of trade between China and its neighbours. Defeated in the First Opium War , China was forced to open its ports to foreign trade, and in the late half of the 19th Century Western nations trading with China found it cheaper and more expedient to mint their own coins, from their own supplies of silver, than to continue to use coins from Mexican sources. These so-called trade dollars would approximate in specification, weight 7 mace and 2 candareens (approx. 27.2 grams; 7 ⁄ 8 troy ounce) and fineness .900 (90%),

1800-539: The right. The coins were then released for use in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, Korea and Lüshunkou . With the extension of British trading interests in the East, especially after the founding of Singapore in 1819 and Hong Kong in 1842, it became necessary to produce a special dollar so as to remove the reliance of a British Colony upon the various foreign coins then in circulation. "China trade silver dollars" were

1850-452: The trade dollar. 2,736,000 coins of this type were minted, the vast majority in 1876-77. When Japan introduced the gold standard in 1897, the silver 1 yen coins, including the trade dollars, were demonetized. The majority of the trade dollars were counterstamped with the character "gin" (Japanese for "silver"). The Osaka mint placed the mark on the left side of the reverse, the Tokyo mint on

1900-538: The ultimate destination of the coins, China. Many Trade dollars have what are called "chopmarks" on them. Chinese merchants would stamp the coins in order to verify their correct weight and value. The United States Congress authorized the U.S. Mint to create a trade dollar to improve trade with the Orient , China in particular. Prior to that, the Mexican peso had been the primary silver coin used in trading with China . In fact,

1950-414: The world began arriving to pay for tea, silk and Chinese porcelain to be shipped abroad. These .900 fine silver trade dollars were then circulated throughout China, where they were readily accepted as a medium of exchange. The British trade dollar, minted exclusively for use in the Far East, depicts Britannia standing on the shore, holding a trident in one hand and balancing a British shield in the other, with

2000-482: Was based on the average weight of a random selection of worn Spanish dollars which Alexander Hamilton ordered to be weighed at the Treasury. Initially this dollar was comparable to the 371–373 grains found in circulating Spanish dollars and aided in its exportation overseas. The restoration of the old 0.9028 fineness in the Mexican peso after 1821, however, increased the latter's silver content to 24.44 g and reduced

2050-623: Was born on 4 February 1862 at Villa Street, Aston Manor , Birmingham. His grandfather Samuel was from Switzerland and had been a Page of the Presence in the household of George IV and William IV ; his father, William Henry de Saulles, was a Birmingham glass merchant. At an early age he began his art training at the Birmingham School of Art , under the master, Mr. Taylor. He was apprenticed to Mr. Wilcox, die-sinker, in Birmingham, under whom he had

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2100-588: Was demonetized on 1   August 1937. The United States trade dollar is a silver ( fineness of .900 or 90%) dollar coin that was issued by the United States Mint and minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , Carson City, and San Francisco from 1873 to 1885. Business strike trade dollars were last produced in 1878 and proof coin production continued until 1885. The coin weighs 420  grains (27.2 g), about 8 grains (0.52 g) more than

2150-513: Was gazetted "engraver to the mint", and from that time to his death produced dies for British and colonial coins and for official medals. Engaged in the preparation of the new seal of Edward VII , De Saulles died at Chiswick , after a few days' illness, on 21 July 1903 aged 41. He was buried in Chiswick churchyard. He was married, but had no children. De Saulles as craftsman worked rapidly, and he designed, modelled and engraved most of his dies. He

2200-511: Was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content 25.563 g (0.8219 ozt) fine silver. It was widely used as the first international currency because of its uniformity in standard and milling characteristics. Some countries countermarked the Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency. Because the Spanish dollar was widely used in Europe,

2250-555: Was relatively short lived. The British Parliament passed the Sterling Silver Money Act in 1825, which made British coins the only recognised form of currency and ended any legitimate use of the holey dollar and dump in the Australian colonies. The Coinage Act of 1792 created the United States Mint and initially defined the United States dollar at par with the Spanish dollar due to its international reputation: By far

2300-608: Was somewhat influenced by the French school of Louis-Oscar Roty and Jules-Clément Chaplain , but for his official work there was little innovation. His medallic work between 1894 and 1903 comprised at least thirty medals and three plaques, and the medals included: Besides these he engraved and designed a number of official medals such as: A fuller list was given by J. H. Pinches in the Numismatic Chronicle ,' 1903, and by Hocking, Catalogue of Coins in Royal Mint . He executed

2350-430: Was the only foreign commodity China would accept. In Oriental trade, Spanish dollars were often stamped with Chinese characters known as "chop marks" which indicated that particular coin had been assayed by a well-known merchant and determined to be genuine. The specifications of the Spanish dollar became a standard for trade in the Far East, with later Western powers issuing trade dollars , and colonial currencies such as

2400-517: Was valued at 15–16 reales or approximately 2 dollars. The famed Gold Doubloon was worth 2 escudos or approximately 4 dollars. From the 15th to the 19th centuries the coin was minted with several different designs at various mints in Spain and the New World , having gained wide acceptance beyond Spain's borders. Thanks to the vast silver deposits that were found mainly in Potosí in modern-day Bolivia and to

2450-416: Was widely traded across the Far East in the East Indies and the East Asia . Contemporary names used for Spanish dollars in Qing dynasty China include běnyáng (本洋), shuāngzhù (双柱), zhùyáng (柱洋), fóyáng (佛洋), fótóu (佛頭), fóyín (佛銀), and fótóuyín (佛頭銀). The "fó" element in those Chinese names referred to the King of Spain in those coins, as his face resembled that of images of the Buddha (佛 in Chinese); and

2500-490: Was worth five shillings . This was indicated by overstamping the two new coins. The obverse of the holey dollar was stamped the words "New South Wales" and the date, 1813, and the reverse with the words "five shillings". The obverse of the dump was stamped with a crown, the words "New South Wales" and the date, 1813, and the reverse with the words "fifteen pence". The mutilated coins became the first official currency produced specifically for circulation in Australia. The expedient

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