Pieces of Eight
Pieces of Eight are without doubt the most famous of all forms of pirate treasure - even if not the most valuable. They are also the first words that any self-respecting parrot learns to say!
What Are Pieces of Eight?
Pieces of eight were old Spanish coins which were in circulation between the late 16th and late 19th centuries. The coins were made of silver and known as a silver dollar.Early coins were made of precious metals such as silver and gold so the weight of the coin - and hence the metal content - was key in determining value. This also meant that coins were sometimes physically cut into pieces. That was the origin of the term "pieces of eight".
A full silver dollar was worth eight reales in the currency of the time. Thus it was frequently cut into up to eight pieces, or bits, each worth one reale. Rather confusingly the term "piece of eight" is used to refer to a full dollar coin rather than the individual pieces into which it could be cut. Sixteen of these full silver pieces of eight - 16 * 8 = 128 reales - were equivalent to one gold doubloon.
Many pieces of eight were minted in the US and then transported around the world by sea. For this reason they were often found on treasure ships targetted by pirates.
The Spanish silver dollar was legal tender in the US until 1857 and formed the basis of the American currency. One US dollar was initially equivalent to one Spanish dollar. The practice of cutting the silver dollar into eight pieces gave rise to colloquial expressions such as "two bits" for a quarter of a dollar.
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is one of the most well-known characters fromthe famous novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver was a one-legged pirate with a parrot that usually sat on his shoulder. The parrot was called Captain Flint and according to the novel:
" ...the parrot would say, with great rapidity, "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" till you wondered that it was not out of breath, or till John threw his handkerchief over the cage. "
This depiction by Stevenson has been part of our image of pirates ever since.