The 1950 film "Treasure Island" mentions several famous "pirate" coins, including "pieces of eight", guineas, and doubloons. The film is based on the 1883 novel of the same title by Robert Louis Stevenson and stars Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins and Robert Newton as pirate Long John Silver. The film is set in 1765, first in England, then at sea, and later on the island. The Disney company made the film in England using a British film company, Dehnam Studios. Britain was in bad financial shape after World War II and had passed a law prohibiting the export of British money. The Disney company had millions of pounds in British banks, and used some of this money to finance the film. Only Long John Silver's parrot mentions "pieces of eight", a guinea is found by a pirate, and Long John mentions finding doubloons. Prop coins are used in the film, a large number must have been made for the treasure chest scenes.

If buccaneers and buried gold And all the old romance retold Exactly in the ancient way Can please, as me they pleased of old The wiser youngsters of today... So be it! Robert Louis Stevenson

Jim Hawkins is a boy who works in a pub and hotel. William Bones, an old pirate, is living in the hotel. Bones served as a crewman for the pirate Captain Flint and has a map to Flint's treasure, supposedly worth 700,000 pounds. He has been threatened by other members of his crew and is afraid of one in particular, a one-legged man named John Silver.

The map is marked:

Bones is dying and gives the map to Jim. Jim takes the map to two gentlemen, Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesy. The Squire outfits a ship to locate the treasure. A one-legged cook and waiter at a local restaurant offers to recruit a crew. The cook was a former sailor and a "sea cook." He is, of course, Long John Silver, a former pirate.

John has a green parrot who keeps saying "pieces of eight, pieces of eight." "Pieces of eight" are Spanish silver dollar sized coins minted from the 1500's to the 1900's.

A "piece of eight":

Obverse:
Pillars and crowned worlds
VTRAQUE VNUM
Mo 1748 (Mexico City)
Reverse:
Crowned shield of Spain
FERDND VI D G HISPAN ET IND REX
MF 8 (Assayer initials, eight reales)

For more information on these items, please visit: Pirate Coins

Captain Smollett, Dr. Livesy, Squire Trelawney

Two pirates discuss business.

A boat taking John and Jim is headed for the island.

The pirates intend to use Jim as a hostage during the treasure hunt. The map is passed around and ends up with John.

The pirates hold a meeting on the ship. They have been drinking and quarreling. Later most of the pirates head for the island leaving two to watch the ship. Jim escapes, goes back to the ship, and finds one dead pirate and another, Israel Hands, very much alive. Israel chases Jim up into the ship's rigging.

Jim pulls a pistol and shoots Israel.

On shore, the pirates acquire the map from Jim and go looking for the chest.

They find an empty chest, start digging, and George Merry finds one solitary gold coin.

The prop coin shows a left facing head and appears to be about the size of a US quarter dollar.

George is angry that all they have found is a British guinea. A guinea was a gold coin worth a little over a British pound. It weighed about 1/4 troy ounce (8 grams). The prop coin has a left-facing head and appears to be a copy of a King George II coin. George II was king from 1727 to 1760. Since the treasure map is dated 1750, it would have to be one made before then.

A British gold guinea:

Gold, 25 mm, 8.24 gm
Obverse:
George II facing left
GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (George II, by the Grace of God)
Reverse:
Crowned arms of Britain, Ireland, France, and Hannover
1750
M.B.F.ET.H.REX.F.D.B.ET.L.D.S.R.I.A.T.ET.E (King of Britain, France and Ireland, etc.)

John switches sides and attacks his former comrades. He then joins the squire's men.

Ben Gunn, who was marooned on the island several years ago, appears and leads the squire's men to the treasure.

A traditional treasure chest filled with coins. A large number must have been made for the treasure chest scenes. The treasure is now supposed to be 100,000 British pounds, if it was all gold coins, A British pound was around 1/4 Troy ounce of gold. The treasure would weight around 1,800 ordinary pounds, almost a ton.

A small amount of the coin design appears in this scene.

The treasure is loaded onto boats, along with the chest. The chest must have been partially emptied or it would sink the small boat. John pulls a pistol and hijacks the boat he is riding in. He orders everyone but Jim into the water, drops Jim off, and sails away.

"I'm the Son of a Sea Cook."

Some of the film's British crew members gave this coin to Walt Disney as a memento of the film. It is now on display at the Disney Family Museum at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. It was minted at the Potosí Mint in Bolivia in 1685, the mint assayer initials are VR.

Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins
Robert Newton as Long John Silver
Basil Sydney as Captain Smollett
Walter Fitzgerald as Squire Trelawney
Denis O'Dea as Dr. Livesy
Director: Byron Haskin
Writers: Lawrence Edward Watkin, Robert Louis Stevenson (novel)