Trade Dollars were first introduced in the late 15th Century, when the ‘Spanish Dollar’ was used as a standardised currency to facilitate international trade.

Minted to a consistent specification and worth eight Spanish Reales, the reliable, trusted Spanish Dollars were the original “pieces of eight”!

The first British Trade Dollar followed in 1895. These silver coins were issued to the same specification as the trusted Spanish Dollar, making it easier for British Merchants to participate in the Oriental silk, porcelain, spice and tea trade which flourished at the end of the First Opium War.