My finds with Iron Patch and Ironhorse ---->update button cleaned War of 1812

Quote from: TORRERO on Oct 28, 2009, 12:31:43 pm

I brought back some of these from Spain, but I never heard of "Pisterean"
What is that ?
We always just called them 2 Reals and that other is a 1 real or half real...

a 2R is a pistareen, a 1R is a half-pistareen, a 1/2R is a quarter pistareen

Within the New World one Iberian Spanish coin was especially widely used, namely the debased silver Spanish two reales known in the English colonies as a "pistareen." Unlike the milled two reales (of the pillar and modified pillar series), this coin had an unstable value depending on its purity and weight (it varied from 84 to 96 grains with a fineness between .8125 and .842). In the British colonies the "lawful money" value of a Spanish colonial two reales was 1s6d so that a total of four of the two reales coins would equal six shillings (the value of an eight reales coin). However, the Spanish "pistareen" had a "Lawful money" value of 1s3d so that it took a total of five of the two reales pistareens to equal six shillings (actually 6s3d). Thus while four colonial two reales regularly traded for an eight reales coin, in practice it took five two reales pistareens to equal an eight reales coin.

Fortunately, the English colonists could readily identify the Spanish "new plate" silver like the pistareen from the Spanish colonial pillar silver. The "new plate" silver had the crowned heraldic Hapsburg shield on the obverse while on the reverse was a cross with the Castile and Leon shield, thus these coins were known as the "cross" reales (and cross pistareens). In 1772 the design on "new plate" coins changed to an obverse with a portrait of the ruler and a reverse with the crowned Hapsburg shield (minted 1772-1851), these coins were known as a "head" reales (and head pistareens). Unlike the new world reales these coins were not given legal tender status in 1793, nevertheless "new plate" coins, especially the pistareen, circulated in the United States into the early 1830's. Although not official coinage, these pieces filled a need specifically because of their inferior quality. Unlike milled coinage they were not hoarded by bullion speculators nor was it profitable to use them for export, hence they remained in circulation. The pistareen circulated in colonial Latin America, throughout the West Indies, Florida, New Orleans, and in Canada as well as in the British colonies. It was especially prominent in the southern colonies, where cut pistareens took the place of coppers. John Kleeberg has noted the Virginia paper currency emission of July 17, 1775 was denominated in colonial shillings but issued in denominations that were multiples of the pistareen, namely notes of 1, 2,4, 6, 8, 10, 16 32 and 64 pistareens (1s3d, 2s6d, 5s, 7s6d, 10s, 12s6d, 20s, £2 and £3), with the 1s3d note actually designated in the upper margin as "a pistareen." Kleeberg noted the prevalence of the pistareen in the southern colonies and in the West Indies as opposed to its more limited use in the northern colonies from which he made the astute observation: