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Trade Empires: The Coins That Crossed Oceans

1500 – 1800

Around 1500, Europe was short of silver, until miners found a rich vein at Joachimsthal in Bohemia. In 1520 the valley's mint began striking a large silver coin, about 29 g, called the Joachimsthaler. People shortened the name to thaler, and in English it became "dollar".

Then the Spanish found far more. Mines at Potosí, in today's Bolivia, and in Mexico poured silver into Spain's mints. The result was the 8 reales, the piece of eight. It travelled to Europe on the treasure fleets, and from 1565 to China on the Manila galleons, which traded it for silk and porcelain. Merchants from Boston to Canton trusted it because its weight and silver content were steady.

Other empires built their own trade coins. In India, Sher Shah Suri's silver rupee set a standard that the Mughals kept. Britain struck the gold guinea, named for the West African region where much of its gold came from. Austria's Maria Theresa thaler went on being struck long after the empress died, and people in Arabia and East Africa used it well into the 20th century.

The articles below follow the silver, and the gold, across the world.

Spanish 8 reales pillar dollar, Mexico City, 1771Tap the coin to turn it over.Heritage Auctions, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Articles in this era

  1. The Thaler: The Coin That Named the Dollar

  2. Pieces of Eight: The Spanish Dollar, First Global Currency

  3. The Doubloon: Spanish Gold and Pirate Legend

  4. The Maria Theresa Thaler

  5. Ottoman and Mughal Coins

  6. The Guinea and the Sovereign: Britain's Gold

Map of Spanish treasure fleet routes in the West Indies, 1726
Spanish treasure fleet routes in the West Indies, 1726 Lobsterthermidor, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Reverse of a Joachimsthaler with the Bohemian lion
The Bohemian lion on the back of a Joachimsthaler NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, CC BY 2.0
Map of the Manila galleon route across the Pacific between Acapulco and Manila, outbound with silver and back with Asian goods.AcapulcoNew SpainManilaGuamWestbound with Mexican and Peruvian silverabout 3 months, on the trade windsEastbound with silk, porcelain and spices4–6 months, north on the Kuroshio currentChinaJapanThe Manila galleonsOne or two ships a year, 1565–1815
The Manila galleons carried American silver to Asia and brought Chinese goods back, linking the treasure fleets of the Caribbean to Asia. Map: flipcoinnow.com, coastlines from Natural Earth (public domain)

Coins in this story

More coin pagesDoubloonSovereign

Coin pages on the way Maria Theresa thaler

Questions people ask

Why is it called a "piece of eight"?

It was worth 8 reales, and it could be cut into pieces to make change. That's where the old American "two bits" for a quarter dollar comes from.

Is "dollar" really from "thaler"?

Yes. Joachimsthaler was shortened to thaler, which became "daler" in Dutch and "dollar" in English.

What is a trade coin?

A coin struck mainly for foreign trade, with a weight and fineness that merchants abroad could trust.

Image credits

  • Spanish 8 reales pillar dollar, Mexico City, 1771. Heritage Auctions, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Source
  • Spanish treasure fleet routes in the West Indies, 1726. Lobsterthermidor, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source
  • The Bohemian lion on the back of a Joachimsthaler. NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, CC BY 2.0. Source
  • Joachimsthaler, Bohemia, 1525. NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, CC BY 2.0. Source
  • Gold two guineas of Charles II, 1664. Gregory Edmund, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

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