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This article is about the trinkets of the Pirate Lords. You may be looking for the Spanish silver money of the same name.

"To confirm your Lordship and right to be heard, present now your pieces of eight, my fellow cap'ns."
Hector Barbossa to the Pirate Lords of the Fourth Brethren Court[src]

The Nine Pieces of Eight, also stylized as Piece of 8 and often referred to as piece(s) of eight, were an important symbol in Pirate Lore as the items owned by the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court.

History[]

"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."
"So change the name."
"What? To 'Nine Pieces of Whatever-We-Happen-to-Have-in-Our-Pockets-at-the-Time?' Oh yes, that sounds very piratey.
"
Pintel and Joshamee Gibbs[src]
MR Jack beads

Jack Sparrow's unique piece of eight.

At the first meeting of the Brethren Court, the Pirate Lords who made up this governing body of the high seas bound Calypso, the Goddess of the Sea, in human form. They sealed her fate with Nine Pieces of Eight, so that the rule of the seas would belong to men. These Pieces of Eight were passed down through the generations as each Pirate Lord names his or her successor to the Court.[4]

Each of the nine Pirate Lords agreed to hold a piece of eight to be presented during a meeting of the Brethren Court, though the term came to apply to a variety of items and trinkets as the pirates found themselves short on money, simply keeping the original term as it sounded more 'piratey'. Each piece of eight reflected something about the lord who possessed the piece, and altogether, the nine pieces were used to bind the sea goddess Calypso after Davy Jones informed the Brethren on how to capture her.[3] Every Pirate Lord has a sacred "Piece of 8" —the object each one used in the past to bind Calypso and swear their allegiance to the Pirate's Code.[5]

Over the years throughout the Age of Piracy, the Nine Pieces of Eight exchanged from one Pirate Lord to another. For example, during the Court of Inquiry, Boris "Borya" Palachnik gave a block of wood to Hector Barbossa, who didn't know the meaning behind the item, until Jack Sparrow informed him about the Pieces of Eight and suggested to talk to Edward Teague about it.[6] Under Barbossa's direction, it was kept safe by Ragetti, who used it as a replacement eye.[3] Several years later, although legend said that Sao Feng acquired the Captain's Knot from his father,[7] Sao Feng actually acquired it from his brother Liang Dao.[8] Shortly afterwards, Gentleman Jocard took his Piece of Eight from King Samuel.[9]

P08Burned

The nine pieces of eight burned to release Calypso.

Pieces of eight were used to call the Brethren Court to assemble at Shipwreck Cove. The sea shanty Hoist the Colours was called forth by Hector Barbossa and sung during a mass execution at a fort during Lord Cutler Beckett's drive to eradicate piracy on the Seven Seas, and the coins reverberated with the song. The nine pieces of eight were burned as part of the incantation to release Calypso prior to the Pirate Lords' battle against the East India Trading Company.[3][4]

Pieces of eight of the Pirate Lords[]

Legendary13

Sao Feng's piece of eight.

"A piece of eight. Nine of them, you say?"
"Our new friend in Singapore was very specific, sir.
Nine pieces of eight."
"What's the significance of that, I wonder?
"
Cutler Beckett and Ian Mercer[src]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Source[]

Notes and references[]

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