piece of eight

American  

noun

1. peso.

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piece of eight British  

noun

1. a former Spanish coin worth eight reals; peso

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Etymology

Origin of piece of eight

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

It was a Spanish piece of eight," said Historian Truman, "and it was thrown across the Rappahannock .

From Time Magazine Archive

But there circulated, usually by weight, various foreign coins, the most common of which was the Spanish piece of eight, about equal in value to five shillings in English money.

From Virginia under the Stuarts 1607-1688 by Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson

A Spanish piece of eight, worth 4s. 6d.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir

Sir Isaac Newton's assay and representation to the Lords of the Treasury, in 1717, of those which he examined, make their values as follows: The Seville piece of eight .

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 1 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson

One piece of eight parts at Hampton Court was appraised at £8,260: this related to the History of Abraham.

From The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries by Menzies, Sutherland, fl. 1840-1883