1 Escudo - Carlos III

Carlos III's monetary reforms of the 1770s pushed the Colombian mints — principally Bogotá and Popayán — toward the milled coinage system that would eventually displace the older macuquina tradition entirely. The 1 escudo denomination occupied an awkward middle position in everyday colonial commerce: too valuable for small transactions, too small to function conveniently in large ones. It circulated nonetheless, moving primarily through merchant hands rather than ordinary trade.

Popayán-struck examples from this type tend to show softer definition on the milled edge owing to worn collar dies that the mint was slow to replace.