Mexico, Peru, and the countries of Nueva Granada minted their own doubloons after becoming independent from Spain. The final Spanish doubloons were minted in 1849. Four escudos are commonly known as the doubloon or pistole and eight escudos is a quadruple pistole. The common denominations were 1/2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 escudos. Gold coins were issued in escudos until approximately 1833. Reales were used for Silver coins while escudos were used for Gold coins. Much like the ounce or gram system, the Spanish had a weight system in the form of reales and escudos. ![]() To understand the weight of the Gold doubloons, it is important to understand the Spanish weight system. They were land-found at the site of a late Medieval seaport in Spain, where pirates were believed to have raided Spanish galleons for their riches. Conversions of the weights are important to understanding our metric system of Precious Metals. Authentic Spanish Copper 'Pirate' Coins for Sale These wonderful coins date from the 1500's through 1600's, during the 'Golden Age' of piracy in Europe. The most familiar coinage weight system we are accustomed to is ounces or grams. The Gold weight of the piece is something unique to their time but still holds importance to their value today. While these coins were prevalent from the 16th to 19th centuries in the Spanish colonies, their popularity extended to other parts of the world including France, Switzerland, Germany, and Prussia. They were mostly round, but they were hand-stamped causing an irregular shape. Other manifestations of the piece were minted to be heavier. These coins were made from 22 karat gold. Weights of a doubloon varied between 6 to 8 grams. ![]() The Spanish and viceroyalties of New Spain, Peru, and Nueva Granada used them as currency from the mid-16th century to the mid-19th century. Gold doubloons are often associated with sunken pirate ships or booty found hidden in caves and caverns. The word doubloon originated from the Spanish word for “double” as these were worth twice as much as two-escudo gold coins.
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