Piece of Eight Público Deposited
The name given to the Spanish silver coin of eight Reales and the predecessor of the silver Dollar of the United States. It was extensively coined in all of the Spanish mints of North and South America, and in the seventeenth century it usually was current for four Shillings and Sixpence. For extensive notes on the practice of cutting it see Wood (p. 4 et seq.), and conf. also Peso (supra). See Chalmers (passim).
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)