doubloon

American  

[duh-bloon] / dʌˈblun /

noun

1. a former gold coin of Spain and Spanish America, originally equal to two escudos but fluctuating in value.

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doubloon British  

/ dʌˈbluːn /

noun

1. a former Spanish gold coin

2. slang (plural) money

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Etymology

Origin of doubloon

1615–25; < Spanish doblón, equivalent to dobl ( a ) dobla + -ón augmentative suffix

Explanation

A doubloon is an old-fashioned gold coin. When you find a treasure chest at the beach, you might be disappointed to find it's not full of doubloons, but instead is stuffed with sand, shells, and a few irritable hermit crabs. You might associate doubloons with sunken pirate ships, and they were a common form of currency in the 17th and 18th century, an era sometimes called the "Golden Age of Piracy." The word comes from the Spanish doble, "double." A doubloon was worth twice as much as a ducat, and this may be where its name came from, although another theory says it was named for its double portrait of the Spanish monarchs Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

Example Sentences

The perspective angles skyward in the picture of a frenzied-looking Ahab displaying the gold doubloon he has promised to the man who can kill Moby-Dick.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

But Mr. Perdue kept two items for himself: a gold doubloon and the emerald.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2022

Original owner John McConnell was a fortune hunter, and the Double Eagle was a rare doubloon discovered in a sunken treasure.

From Golf Digest • Jan. 4, 2017

You’ve heard it so many times that your dreams are haunted with doubloon mountains.

From Time • Dec. 27, 2012

I turn the doubloon over in my fingers.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman