Real coins·10 March 2026·4 min read
The gold doubloon — the pirate's treasure
The Spanish gold coin that filled galleon chests and the imagination of pirate tales.
The doubloon (gold escudo) was the gold coin of the Spanish Empire, struck from American gold. Alongside the silver "pieces of eight", it filled the galleons that crossed the ocean.
The gold that fed legends
Galleons loaded with doubloons attracted pirates and created legends of buried treasure. Behind the stories was an economic reality: the huge flow of gold and silver that changed the world's economy.
