Pieces of eight
A History of the World in 100 Objects
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The Importance of Religious Tolerance
Silver coin became a rarity within Spain as it hemorrhaged out to pay for foreign goods while local economic activity declined. Even today when Spaniards want to say that something is worth a fortune, they say Valle un poto si. The Spanish piece of eight lives on as a romantic prop in fantasy pirate stories. But it was one of the foundation stones of the modern world, underpinning the first world empire. It prefigured and made possible the modern global economy. And if you have an object with a history to tell, why not add it to our growing collection? Find all this at bbc.co.uk slash History of the World next week.
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