Pirate treasure?

For anyone who’s ever read Treasure Island, or even seen the film for that matter, the words ‘Pieces of Eight’ will always be synonymous with Long John Silver’s parrot, and conjuring up thoughts of pirates and adventure. As a lover of history, I’m always captivated by the story behind items that come in for auction, so when an old Spanish silver coin turned up at a recent valuation day, I was immediately transported back to my childhood and the excitement of reading about pirates, desert islands and treasure. It was an early 18th century Spanish silver 8 Reales coin.

But what exactly are Pieces of Eight?

The Spanish dollar was minted across the Spanish Empire and was widely used in both South and North America and became known as ‘pillar dollars’ because of the pillars of Hercules on the reverse of the coin. To give change, the silver coins were routinely cut into eight smaller pieces, giving rise to the term piece of eight.

When the coin appeared at a recent valuation day, it had a silver mount inscribed Hollandia 1743, referring to a Dutch East Indies ship that was shipwrecked off the Scilly Isles with all 

hands lost. The ship sank carrying a cargo of silver coins minted in Mexico and Bolivia and bound for Batavia.

The Hollandia's treasure was lost and largely forgotten until 1967, when an explorer started to search through documents and archives for information on the ship. Then, just four years later he found the wreck itself and started to salvage the cargo.

So nearly 280 years after the Hollandia sunk, I am sitting just outside Henley on Thames, with what can only be described as genuine pirate treasure in my hands. Whilst the coin isn’t worth vast sums, the story behind it surely takes some beating.

The Hollandia