DOUBLOON \dub.LOON\ n. an old Spanish gold coin used from the 16th to the 19th century

The first official doubloon, known in a few times and places as the DOBLON or DOBLA, was worth 2 ESCUDOS, or 32 REALES (the silver coins above).

Doubloons were not only used in Spain itself, but also in Spanish colonies throughout America. In fact, because of their gold content, these coins were accepted as unofficial currency in virtually any country in which Spanish trade took place.

Not surprisingly, many ships burgeoning with this valuable currency often became victims of piracy and shipwrecks. As a result, many of the famous stories you have read about pirates and sunken treasure involve wooden chests overflowing with gold doubloons…

Like many widely circulated coins (such as the THALER we talked about a while back), the name ‘doubloon’ would soon be adopted by other non-Spanish countries.

One celebrated example is this Ecuadorian 8 Escudos doubloon…

This coin came to fame in Herman Melville‘s novel Moby-Dick, in which Captain Ahab nails one to the mast of the Pequod as an offering to the first person to capture the great whale. Apparently, NUMISMATISTS (they’re the people who study or collect coins) refer to this Ecuadorian doubloon as the ‘Moby-Dick Coin’.

Another coin of great renown in numismatic circles is this fellow, known as the Brasher Doubloon…

This coin is named after Ephraim Brasher, an 18th century New York State silversmith who minted the very first gold coins in America. With only seven Brasher Doubloons extant, you won’t believe what some people are prepared to pay for one…