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1/2 Escudo - Carlos IV
| Issuer | Real Casa de la Moneda (Royal Spanish Mint) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788-1797 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.7 g |
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| Obverse description | Armored and draped bust of King Carlos IV facing right, with loosely tied hair and ribbon. The royal effigy is rendered in high relief in the neoclassical style characteristic of late 18th-century Spanish coinage. The encircling legend reads CAROL·IIII·D·G·HISP·R, invoking the king's title by the grace of God as King of the Hispanics. The date 1793 appears in the lower portion of the field, flanked by the mint mark and assayer initials. The coin's edge is bordered by a fine milled graining. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Milled |
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| Additional information |
Carlos IV ascended the Spanish throne in December 1788 following the death of his father Carlos III, which is why this type carries a date range beginning that year — the Madrid mint wasted little time updating the dies. His reign coincided with the upheaval of the French Revolution and the subsequent wars that drained the Spanish treasury, placing enormous pressure on gold coinage production across all denominations. The half escudo, already the smallest gold coin in the Spanish colonial system, was minted in comparatively low numbers relative to the larger denominations favored for large-scale transactions.
KM#433 specimens struck at Seville tend to show softer definition than Madrid issues — a consistent characteristic of the Seville facility during this period, not a function of wear.