"Captain Jack Sparrow? Owes me four doubloons. Heard he was dead."

―Sunburned sailor to William Turner^[src]

The Spanish Doubloon was a seven-gram (.225 Troy-ounce) gold coin minted in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish settlement of Nueva Grenada that was used widely in the Americas during the Age of Piracy.

History Edit

"Here. Give this Doubloon to the chaps near the Mermaid."

―Edward Teague to Jack Sparrow^[src]

The word "doubloon" has its roots in the Latin word "duplus", meaning double, a reference to denomination of this coin worth two escudos. These gold coins were eventually minted in four denominations, worth one, two, four, and eight escudos respectively.

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, gold doubloons played a pivotal role in the Spanish economy and were a major part of its colonial activities. Doubloons minted in the Americas were carried on Spanish galleons throughout the Caribbean and across the world to trade for highly sought after commodities such as silks and spices. As they made their way across the vast seas and oceans, the captains of these ships were always wary of attack from marauding pirates. The pirates knew full well that if they could manage to intercept a Spanish galleon en route to its trading destination, their chances of finding gold aboard were extremely high.

At some point during the war against piracy, Governor Weatherby Swann offered a reward of 1,000 doubloons for the capture of Jolly Roger, one of the deadliest pirates in the Caribbean.

Behind the scenes Edit

"A gold doubloon to the man who spots the first! Do not be greedy! We need but a single one!"

―Blackbeard to his crew^[src]

• During the battle at Whitecap Bay, Blackbeard offered a gold doubloon to the first person who captures a mermaid. That scene was cut from the final version of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie, but it was included in the On Stranger Tides junior novelization book.

Appearances Edit

• Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm (First appearance)
• Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father (Mentioned only)
• The Price of Freedom
• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean (Mentioned only)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)

External links Edit

• Doubloon on Wikipedia