doubloon

/ˌˈdʌˌˈblun/

Other forms: doubloons

A doubloon is an old-fashioned gold coin. When you find a treasure chest at the beach, you might be disappointed to find it's not full of doubloons, but instead is stuffed with sand, shells, and a few irritable hermit crabs.

You might associate doubloons with sunken pirate ships, and they were a common form of currency in the 17th and 18th century, an era sometimes called the "Golden Age of Piracy." The word comes from the Spanish doble, "double." A doubloon was worth twice as much as a ducat, and this may be where its name came from, although another theory says it was named for its double portrait of the Spanish monarchs Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

Definitions of doubloon

1. noun

   a former Spanish gold coin
   type of:

   coin

   a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money