The Oak Island Compendium
  • Home
  • Blockhouse Blog
    • Past Blockhouse Blog Articles
  • Oak Island
    • About Oak Island >
      • 10X (Shaft # 29)
      • Artifacts
      • Businesses on the Island >
        • Cabins to Rent
        • Sawmill
      • Fort on Oak Island
    • Books >
      • Our Maritimes
    • Legends >
      • The Legend of Oak Island
    • Theories
    • Ghosts and spirits
    • People
  • Research Archives
    • Les MacPhie Archives
    • Wonnacott - Smiths Cove
  • Investigations
    • Investigative Research
  • Files
    • Documents >
      • Carbon Datings - Oak Island
      • Woods Hole Report - Draft 1996
      • Captain W Thompson Letter - 1863
    • Articles >
      • Magazine Articles
      • Newspaper Articles >
        • 1857 Aug 9 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1857 Aug 20 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1861 Aug 29 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1862 Oct - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1863 Feb 19 - Yarmouth Herald
        • 1866 Sep 4 - Boston Post
        • 1897 Jan 17 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Sun
        • 1897 Apr 16 - Digby Weekly Courier
        • 1897 May - Truro Daily News
        • 1971 Dec 1 - The Dartmouth Free Press
    • Photos >
      • Oak Island Gallery: a mystery in pictures
    • Maps >
      • Map - Des Barres 1776
    • Members only
  • Chronology
  • About
  • Contact

Spanish dollars? Sure, we take those here

2/7/2016

2 Comments

 
Kel Hancock- Blockhouse Investigations- Nova Scotia
Picturea 1776 Spanish Dollar or "piece of eight"
   The other day someone asked me about the legends that say people associated with Oak Island in the late 18th and early 19th century were reportedly seen spending Spanish coins. The best known of these tales says that Oak Island resident Anthony Graves was seen spending Spanish coins in the nearby township of Chester. We're not sure of the origin of this story, but it's oft been repeated by many writers and researchers as some sort of clue or evidence that implies he must have found some treasure on the island- presumably Spanish treasure. So tonight, we'd like to share some information with you that takes some of the 'mystique'  and significance out of these legends.

   First of all, it's very likely that Anthony Graves did spend Spanish coin in Chester. In fact it is highly probable that all the residents of Oak Island did likewise. History actually tells us that we should be very surprised if they didn't! What is being overlooked is the historical fact that Spanish dollars were a very common form of currency in colonial Nova Scotia and there are a couple reasons why.
    In Nova Scotia during the latter part of the 18th century the primary English coin in circulation was the Guinea. That was great for the Halifax Merchants and the rich, but in places like Falmouth, Liverpool, Lunenburg, and Chester the Guinea was far too large of a denomination of currency for practical use among the settlers. Many of the settlers didn't deal in minted currency for the most part anyway. But when they did, the Spanish dollar was the coinage of choice. It was legal tender, completely acceptable, and it was very common. 

'Until the middle of the nineteenth century, each British colony in North America regulated the use of currency in its own jurisdiction. Although pounds, shillings, and pence (the currency system used in Great Britain) were used for bookkeeping (i.e., as the unit of account), each colony decided for itself the value, or “rating,” of a wide variety of coins used in transactions or to settle debts.These included not only English and French coins, but also coins from Portugal, Spain, and the Spanish colonies in Latin America—notably Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. Once rated, coins became legal tender.Ratings were based on the amount of gold or silver contained in the coins and varied widely from colony to colony but were always higher than the rating used in Great Britain. For example, in the mid-eighteenth century, a Spanish silver dollar, “the principal measure of exchange and the basis of pecuniary contracts” in North America, was appraised at 4 shillings and 6 pence in London, 5 shillings in Halifax, 6 shillings in New England...'- The Bank of Canada


   Another reason why Spanish currency was in abundance was because ships from our coastal communities carried on a brisk and regular trade with the West Indies. In addition to coming home laden with traded goods from those islands (even perhaps coconut fibre), they came home with chests and purses full of Spanish coin. So, if Anthony Graves was seen buying things in Chester with Spanish 'pieces of eight", guess what? No big deal.
Somehow legend-spinners made it into something mysterious and curious.
But once again, the facts tell us that this just isn't true.

We hope you had a great weekend and Goodnight from the Blockhouse!
2 Comments
Bob Krafcik
2/7/2016 04:56:29 pm

Thanks for providing the proper context for an account I have read in several different places.

Reply
Valerie McClelland link
2/8/2016 12:01:40 pm

It's good to know this...thank you!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    From The Blockhouse
    is published by Blockhouse Investigations and oakislandcompendium.ca
    in Nova Scotia, Canada

    Editors and Chief Correspondents
    Kelly W. Hancock, CD

    Doug Crowell

    Writers
    Jonathan Guy

    Contributing Writers
    John Wonnacott, P. Eng.
    ​Les MacPhie,P.Eng.

    Researchers
    Linda Rafuse
    Tammy Sloan
    Trevor McFetridge
    ​

    Consultants 
    Alessandra Nadudvari
    Shawna Goodall

    Webmaster
    Jonathan Guy

    All material and images published herein, unless otherwise credited, are copyright of Blockhouse Investigations and oakislandcompendium.ca and may be reproduced by permission only.

    Views expressed in these blog posts are our own. The views of those that comment are their own.

    Archives

    November 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Recommended sites:
Chester Bound
Oak Island Treasure
Critical Enquiry
The Oak Island Scrapbook
The Night Time Podcast
Paranormal Investigations Nova Scotia
  • Home
  • Blockhouse Blog
    • Past Blockhouse Blog Articles
  • Oak Island
    • About Oak Island >
      • 10X (Shaft # 29)
      • Artifacts
      • Businesses on the Island >
        • Cabins to Rent
        • Sawmill
      • Fort on Oak Island
    • Books >
      • Our Maritimes
    • Legends >
      • The Legend of Oak Island
    • Theories
    • Ghosts and spirits
    • People
  • Research Archives
    • Les MacPhie Archives
    • Wonnacott - Smiths Cove
  • Investigations
    • Investigative Research
  • Files
    • Documents >
      • Carbon Datings - Oak Island
      • Woods Hole Report - Draft 1996
      • Captain W Thompson Letter - 1863
    • Articles >
      • Magazine Articles
      • Newspaper Articles >
        • 1857 Aug 9 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1857 Aug 20 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1861 Aug 29 - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1862 Oct - Liverpool Transcript
        • 1863 Feb 19 - Yarmouth Herald
        • 1866 Sep 4 - Boston Post
        • 1897 Jan 17 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Sun
        • 1897 Apr 16 - Digby Weekly Courier
        • 1897 May - Truro Daily News
        • 1971 Dec 1 - The Dartmouth Free Press
    • Photos >
      • Oak Island Gallery: a mystery in pictures
    • Maps >
      • Map - Des Barres 1776
    • Members only
  • Chronology
  • About
  • Contact
✕