Colombiapictures
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- May 7, 2010
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The literal translation of peso is weight. Like one weight is 27gr. The stamp on the coin is the certification that this piece of silver is of the standard purity and the right weight. Silver bullion was shipped by weight. The standardized weight size made the counting easy and the payment easy. Much of the Spanish silver bullion in coin form eventually found it's way to the Far East, still in the same form. <br>
This is the reason the cob coins were of irregular shape. Specially the ones made in Mexico were very irregular in shape, often rectangular. The shape had no importance, just the weight. <br>
It was the universal currency, like today it is the dollar. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dollar" target="_blank">Spanish dollar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><br>
As currency it was practical to have smaller denominations. The denomination was 1 Real. Compare a 8 Real coin, "a piece Of Eight" with a hundred dollar bill. 8 Real = 27gr, 4Real = 13.5gr, etc. Bob Marx explains these things quite well in his books.<br>
In later times, in the USA, any piece of silver of 27gr was called a dollar. <br>
People found many ways to cheat with the silver cobs. A common way was to shave off a little of the edge of the cob. As the shape was already irregular from the beginning, no one would notice. After some time, with many people shaving off a sliver, the coins did just not have the weight anymore, so they had to be melted down and re-coined.<br>
This is why they started to make rilled edges on the coins. But there were many more ways to steal a bit of silver or gold from each coin.<br>
Shipping space was regulated. To make stowing easier, each box of the same category had to be of the same size as the other. <br>
Bullion had to be shipped as low as possible in the hold to keep the center of gravity of the ship low. Bullion also did not suffer damage if it got wet, as the galleons were always leaking. Lighter cargo and cargo that would suffer damage would be higher up in the hold. <br>
<br>
Did the size and weight of the bullion boxes (chests) change over time? Probably. Everything changes over time.
This is the reason the cob coins were of irregular shape. Specially the ones made in Mexico were very irregular in shape, often rectangular. The shape had no importance, just the weight. <br>
It was the universal currency, like today it is the dollar. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dollar" target="_blank">Spanish dollar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><br>
As currency it was practical to have smaller denominations. The denomination was 1 Real. Compare a 8 Real coin, "a piece Of Eight" with a hundred dollar bill. 8 Real = 27gr, 4Real = 13.5gr, etc. Bob Marx explains these things quite well in his books.<br>
In later times, in the USA, any piece of silver of 27gr was called a dollar. <br>
People found many ways to cheat with the silver cobs. A common way was to shave off a little of the edge of the cob. As the shape was already irregular from the beginning, no one would notice. After some time, with many people shaving off a sliver, the coins did just not have the weight anymore, so they had to be melted down and re-coined.<br>
This is why they started to make rilled edges on the coins. But there were many more ways to steal a bit of silver or gold from each coin.<br>
Shipping space was regulated. To make stowing easier, each box of the same category had to be of the same size as the other. <br>
Bullion had to be shipped as low as possible in the hold to keep the center of gravity of the ship low. Bullion also did not suffer damage if it got wet, as the galleons were always leaking. Lighter cargo and cargo that would suffer damage would be higher up in the hold. <br>
<br>
Did the size and weight of the bullion boxes (chests) change over time? Probably. Everything changes over time.
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