Daily AncestorLevy
A levy was the name used in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia for the Spanish real, one eighth of a dollar or 12 1/2 cents.
The word is short for elevenpenny bit. Where the dollar was rated at 7 shillings 6 pence, one eighth of it was valued at eleven pence, and the nickname stuck. It is the same coin New Yorkers called a shilling and others simply called a bit.
Do not confuse it with levy meaning a tax or charge collected by authority, such as a county levy, which appears in the same records.
As seen in a recordStore ledger, Pennsylvania, 1820s
1 lb. coffee ... 2 levies
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Levy." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/levy-coin. Last checked 2026-10-03.