Real Público Deposited
A silver coin current in such parts of Spain as were not conquered by the Moors. It was first struck at Seville and Burgos by Pedro III, king of Castile (1350-1368), and was called Nummus Realis, "money of the king," from which the name Real was abbreviated. It was one eighth of the Peso, and was divided into 34 Maravedis or eight and one half Cuartos, and there are multiples as high as fifty Reales in silver and one hundred Reales in gold. See Cinquantina and Rial.
The coin continued in use in Spain up to the time of the Revolution of 1869-1870, and was succeeded by the Peseta. It was extensively struck in Mexico, the Central American Republics, and in many coun- tries in South America.
When the East India Company was char- tered in 1600, it struck a silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, and Sixpence for use in India, and these pieces were also known as eight Reales, four Reales, two Reales, and Real. A one twenty-fourth Real was issued by James II for the plantations in North America, which has a reverse inscrip- tion VAL 24 PART REAL HISPAN.
For a detailed account of this coin and its numerous varieties, etc., see Heiss, and for the Portuguese equivalents see Milreis.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)