Findspot record TR 34 SW 1231 - 8 Reales piece or 'piece of eight', Townwall Street (?) Dover

Summary

A Spanish silver 8 Reales piece, popularly known as a 'piece of eight' in the Castilian series, of Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella of Castille (1479-1516). The exact location it was found is unknown, it may have been one of several found during road working operations at Townwall Street, Dover in the early 1970's or it may have been a find from the recovery of the Goodwin Sands Dornier (location accurate to the nearest 100m based on available information).

Location

Grid reference TR 3218 4136 (point) Estimated from sources
Map sheet TR34SW
County KENT
District DOVER, KENT
Civil Parish DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Taken from source:

A Spanish silver coin, or 8 Reales piece, popuarly known as a 'piece of eight' in the Castilian series, of Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella of Castille (1479-1516) whose marriage unified Spain. The obverse shows their shield of arms - quartered shield bearing the arms of Castille, Leon, Aragon and Sicily: with the arms of Grenada below. The inscription reads FERNANDUS ET ISABEL. The reverse bears Ferdinands symbol, the yoke and that of Isabella, a bundle of arrows.

The silver real was current in those parts of Spain not conquered by the Moors; first struck at Seville and Burgos by Pedro III King of Castille (1350-1368), and was called NUMMUS REALIS, 'money of the king'. From this the name 'Real' was abbrveiated. It was one eighth of the peso (the Spanish equivalent of the word dollar) and was one half cuartos. These coins were in multiples of 2, 4 and 8 and as high as 50 reales in silver and 100 in gold. The coin continued in use in Spain up to the time of the revolution of 1869-70, being succeeded by the peseta. It was extensively struck in Mexico, the central American Republics and in many countries in South America.

It is interesting to note that when the East India Comapany was chartered in 1600 it struck a silver crown, half crown, shilling and sixpence for use in India. These were also known as eight reales, two reales and real.

The exact location it was found is unknown, it may have been one of several found during road working operations at Townwall Street, dover in the early 1970's or it may have been a find from the recovery of the Goodwin Sands Dornier. (1)


<1> Council for Kentish Archaeology, 1977, Kent Archaeological Review; A Piece of Eight from Dover. Vol. 50, KAR 50 1977 pp. 251-252 (Article in serial). SKE31754.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1> Article in serial: Council for Kentish Archaeology. 1977. Kent Archaeological Review; A Piece of Eight from Dover. Vol. 50. Vol. 50, page 251-252. KAR 50 1977 pp. 251-252.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Apr 3 2017 11:41AM