| OCR Text |
Show Doubloons Now Merely Bullion. Should one find a pirate's burled treasure ho would have to dispose of his Spanish gold at Its bullion value, for, since August 1, 1008, when tho common crier made proclamation from the steps of the Itoyal exchange of London thnt after that date the doubloon doub-loon would cease to bo legal teuder In the West Indies, Including British Gulann, tho doubloon hns not been the precious thing It was. In 1730, nnd for a century nfter, It wus worth $8, more or less. It hns ceased to be coined In Its nntlvc country, coun-try, Spain, nnd since 100S It hns been unpopular In the West Indies, where Tor n long time It figured In a mixed circulation embracing British, United States and Spanish coins. In tho interest in-terest of romance, however, tho nnmo must survive. It signifies nothing more than that tho coin wns double the value of a pistole, but tho doubloon doub-loon was never such u mouth-filling mockery ns pieces of eight, which suggests sug-gests great riches, but mentis only Spnnlsh silver dollnrs, pieces equivalent equiva-lent to eight reals. |
