4 Reales Peru

The 4 Reales from Peru played a key role in the Manila Galleon trade, with thousands shipped across the Pacific to buy Chinese silks and porcelain. That global reach turned a simple silver coin into a currency bridge between continents.

Struck at the Potosí mint using locally mined silver, these pieces often featured the Pillars of Hercules design on one side and a cross on the other. Planchets were sometimes irregular, hammered from recycled metal scraps, which made for uneven edges but ensured steady production over two and a half centuries.

We don't know the exact mintage for most years; colonial records were spotty and often destroyed. Still, their commonality meant they were everywhere from Lima markets to European ports.

One theory suggests these coins funded more than trade—they might have bankrolled pirate ventures, though that's harder to prove than spotting one in a dealer's tray.