1/2 Escudo - Carlos IV

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.