Stories Hidden
In History
"Every artifact has a memory.
Every object has a journey.
Every life leaves a mark."
What if a single coin could tell the stories of everyone who ever held it?
Further Beyond: The Odyssey of a Silver Dollar follows one scarred 1776 Spanish silver dollar as it passes through generations, conflicts, borders, and lives – silently witnessing more than two centuries of history.
Where History
Becomes A Story
Craig Sowell brings together his lifelong passion for history, education, and storytelling to uncover the forgotten human experiences hidden behind the objects we often overlook.
In Further Beyond: The Odyssey of a Silver Dollar, history is not simply observed from a distance—it is carried from one generation to the next through a single 1776 Spanish silver dollar. As the coin passes from hand to hand, it becomes a silent witness to changing empires, wars, trade, migration, hardship, survival, freedom, and the everyday lives of people whose stories may never appear in traditional history books.
The novel blends historical fiction with real numismatic and economic history, allowing readers to experience the past through a unique perspective. From the Royal Mint of Mexico City to ships crossing dangerous waters, frontier settlements, battlefields, family homes, marketplaces, and modern collections, the coin remains the connecting thread through more than two centuries of change. Each person who holds it sees only a piece of silver. Yet every exchange adds another layer to its journey.
Through this unusual storytelling approach, Further Beyond explores a powerful idea: history is not shaped only by famous leaders or major events. It also lives in ordinary people, forgotten moments, and the objects that quietly survive long after their owners are gone. The coin carries no voice of its own, but its scars, wear, and movement become evidence of the lives it has touched and the world it has traveled through.
Every Object Tells a Story...
The coin crossed generations.
What lives did it touch along the way?
1776 — the journey begins.
Research Object
1776 Spanish 8 Reales Silver Dollar
About Craig Sowell
History Has Always Been More Than Dates.
For Craig Sowell, history began with stories.
Born in Houston and raised in Missouri City, Texas, Craig developed a fascination with the past while listening to stories told by his paternal grandfather. That early curiosity grew into a lifelong passion for history, reading, education, and collecting.
His professional journey has taken him from the restaurant industry to funeral service and ultimately to education, where he serves as a full-time professor at Austin Community College. Outside the classroom, Craig is an avid coin collector, musician, community theater participant, reader, and lifelong student of history. Further Beyond is his first work of fiction and brings together two of his greatest interests: history and coin collecting.
Read The Book
One Coin. Countless Hands. 250 Years of History.
When we hold an old coin, we can identify its date, origin, composition, and value. But the question we can rarely answer is the most fascinating one:
Who held it before us?
Further Beyond: The Odyssey of a Silver Dollar imagines the hidden biography of a single 1776 Spanish silver dollar. From the fiery presses of colonial Mexico to ships, markets, battlefields, frontiers, homes, pockets, and collections, the coin moves through history while generations rise and disappear around it. Pirates, merchants, soldiers, families, enslaved people, travelers, collectors, and ordinary men and women each hold the silver for only a moment.
The coin continues.
And every scar becomes part of its story.
Story Trailer
Watch History Move From Hand to Hand
Across oceans, wars, generations, and forgotten lives, one silver dollar becomes a silent witness to history. Experience the world of Further Beyond and discover how one ordinary object can connect centuries of extraordinary human stories.
Buy The Book
Hold the Journey in Your Hands
Travel across more than two centuries through the eyes of an object that cannot speak – but remembers everything. Further Beyond: The Odyssey of a Silver Dollar blends historical fiction, numismatic history, adventure, and human drama into a journey through the hidden currents of the past.
Blogs
When most people picture the beginnings of American money, they imagine the first coins struck by the United States Mint. But for generations before a truly national coin supply existed, everyday commerce in North America depended on a mix of currencies from across the Atlantic world. Among the most trusted and widely recognized was the Spanish…..
Few old coins have a nickname as recognizable as the “piece of eight.” The phrase immediately brings to mind treasure chests, sailing ships, pirates, and maps marked with an X. Yet the name was not invented for adventure stories. It came from a straightforward monetary system and from a silver coin that became one of the most widely used forms…….
When most people picture the beginnings of American money, they imagine the first coins struck by the United States Mint. But for generations before a truly national coin supply existed, everyday commerce in North America depended on a mix of currencies from across the Atlantic world. Among the most trusted and widely recognized was the Spanish 8 reales a large silver coin that English speakers commonly called the Spanish milled dollar or piece of eight.
Few old coins have a nickname as recognizable as the “piece of eight.” The phrase immediately brings to mind treasure chests, sailing ships, pirates, and maps marked with an X. Yet the name was not invented for adventure stories. It came from a straightforward monetary system and from a silver coin that became one of the most widely used forms of money in the early modern world. The coin at the center of the phrase was the Spanish 8 reales. In the Spanish monetary system, the real was a unit…
Feedback
I really enjoyed Further Beyond. The idea of following a silver dollar through different periods of history is incredibly creative. What I liked most was how the coin connects the lives of completely different people. It made me think about how much history can be hidden inside something as simple as an old coin. Definitely a memorable historical read.
This was such an interesting way to tell a historical story. I loved following the 1776 Spanish silver dollar and seeing how its journey connects different people and generations. The book made history feel much more personal rather than just a collection of dates and events. I found myself wondering where the coin would go next. A very enjoyable and original concept.
I wasn't sure what to expect from a book centered around a silver dollar, but I was pleasantly surprised. The coin becomes a fascinating connection between different lives and historical moments. I especially enjoyed the way the story shows how ordinary people can become part of a much bigger history. It gave me a completely different perspective on old coins and artifacts.
I really liked the originality of this story. Using one silver dollar to travel through generations is such a clever idea, and it gives the book a strong sense of continuity. The historical setting adds another layer because you get to see how different people experience the changing world around them. There are plenty of moments that make you stop and think. A very interesting read for anyone who enjoys history.
What stood out to me most was the idea that the coin survives while the people around it continue to change. That creates a really interesting feeling throughout the story. I enjoyed imagining all the different hands the silver dollar passed through and the lives connected to it. The book also made me curious about the real history behind Spanish silver coins. Very creative storytelling.
News Letter
Go Further Into History
Join Craig Sowell for updates on Further Beyond, historical discoveries, coin collecting, new writing, upcoming releases, and the real history behind the stories.
