CoinMan
Piece of Eight with Chops
This eight reale piece, dated 1795, shows how these coins were used in trade with the Orient. Each "chop mark" was punched into the coin by a Chinese merchant to approve the coin's weight and metallic content -- its acceptability in trade. Coins of the Spanish colonial mint in Mexico City, like this one, were in time, highly respected world wide. They were legal tender in the US for one dollar thru 1857.
More on the role of this coin in the China trade at www.valuable-coin-stories.com/world-silver-coin.html .
Piece of Eight with Chops
This eight reale piece, dated 1795, shows how these coins were used in trade with the Orient. Each "chop mark" was punched into the coin by a Chinese merchant to approve the coin's weight and metallic content -- its acceptability in trade. Coins of the Spanish colonial mint in Mexico City, like this one, were in time, highly respected world wide. They were legal tender in the US for one dollar thru 1857.
More on the role of this coin in the China trade at www.valuable-coin-stories.com/world-silver-coin.html .