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

The coin most commonly current was the Spanish piece of eight, but the system of weights and measures was the English system, and reckoning was by pounds, shillings, and pence.

From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur

A real de plata was one-eighth of a peso or piece of eight.

From The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century by Haring, Clarence Henry

The men, weary of the voyage, offered a piece of eight "each man" to him who first discovered land.

From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume II (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter

A piece of eight, then the principal coin in the Danish West Indies, was worth sixty-four cents.

From The Conqueror by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn