Crossword Genius

Steal the Spanish and South American coins (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nickels

'american coins' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'steal the spanish and south' is the wordplay.
'steal' becomes 'nick' (I've seen this before).
'the spanish' becomes 'el'.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'south' becomes 's' ('S' can be a synonym of 'south').
'nick'+'el'+'s'='NICKELS'

(Other definitions for nickels that I've seen before include "Five-cent coins" , "Change in US" , "American coins" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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