Piece of eight (money)

"Those aren't pieces of eight, they're just pieces of junk!" "Aye, the original plan was to use nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso, but when the First Court met, the Brethren were, to a one skint broke."

- Pintel and Joshamee Gibbs

The Spanish dollar (also known as the piece of eight, the real de a ocho or the eight-real coin) was a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler. It was widely used in Europe, the Americas, and the Far East. The term peso was used in Spanish to refer to this denomination. When the first Brethren Court met to bind Calypso, the Pirate Lords intended to use nine Pieces of eight to do that, but they were too short on money, so they used whatever they had in their pockets at the time.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
 * The Accidental Pirate!
 * The Capture of Jack Sparrow!
 * In Jack We Trust!
 * A Revolting Development!
 * The Buccaneer's Heart!
 * The Duel!
 * Chain Reaction!
 * The Escape of Pintel and Ragetti!
 * The Haunting of Jack Sparrow!
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End