Piastre (Gr. and Lat. emplastron, 'a plaster'; in the Romance languages, anything spread out or flattened, 'a plate,' 'a coin'), an old Spanish silver coin worth about 4s. It was divided into 8 silver reals, and hence was termed a piece of eight, the name invariably applied to it on the Spanish Main (see DOLLAR). The Italian piastre, or scudo, was an imitation of the Spanish coin, and was nearly equal to it in value. The Turkish piastre is a silver coin worth about 2d. in English reckoning and 4 cents in United States currency. Usually 125 piastres = £1 sterling and 100 = 20 francs. The lira contains 100 piastres. Pieces of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 piastres are struck in silver.