Circulating extensively in Australia after European settlement in 1788, the Spanish-American Silver 8 Reales is always highly sought after – especially when found in the stunning about Uncirculated condition seen here!

Known as a Piece of Eight, and naturally associated with the Golden Age of Piracy, shipwrecks and buried treasure, the Silver 8 Reales is one of the world’s most famous coin types. The most trusted international trade coin in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Silver 8 Reales was respected and accepted worldwide – including in colonial Australia.

As the Silver 8 Reales circulated around the globe, it naturally found its way to the shores of Britain’s southern outpost. Starved of currency, the influx of the 8 Reales into colonial Australia was vital to the survival of the economy. Such was the importance of the coin, it was included in Governor Philip Gidley King’s Proclamation of 1800.

In regulating the values of foreign coins circulating in the years after European settlement, King’s Proclamation of 1800 created Australia’s first currency system. Listed at a value of Five Shillings, the 8 Reales was a leading coin of this landmark enactment. Soon after, during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, the Silver 8 Reales would gain further fame as the coin used to create the iconic rarity, the 1813 Holey Dollar.

The Silver 8 Reales offered here was struck in the Spanish colonial outpost of Peru, in the city of Lima, under King Charles IV. More interested in sport and hunting than ruling one of the world’s great empires, Charles IV reigned from 1788 – the year of permanent European settlement of Australia – until forced from the throne by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808. Graced with a fine portrait of the Spanish monarch, the single available Spanish-American 1805 Silver 8 Reales we have available is in impressive about Uncirculated condition.

A wonderful opportunity for collector or history buff alike – click add to cart now!