2 Escudos - Carlos II

Obverse description	The obverse displays the quartered Royal Arms of Spain in shield form, typical of the macuquina (cob) coinage of the colonial Mexican mint under Carlos II. The crowned shield bears the castles of Castile and lions of León in alternate quarters, with the Granada pomegranate in base, rendered in the characteristic crude, deeply-struck style of hammered cob coinage. Partial legends appear around the periphery, though largely off-flan as is typical of this issue. The irregular flan shape and flat relief of the strike are hallmarks of the hand-struck escudo series.
Obverse script	Log in to see details
Obverse lettering	Log in to see details
Reverse description	Log in to see details
Reverse script	Latin
Reverse lettering	Log in to see details
Edge	Log in to see details
Mint	Log in to see details
Mintage	Log in to see details
Additional information	Carlos II, the last Habsburg king of Spain, ruled under near-constant regency due to severe physical and cognitive disabilities — the product of generations of dynastic inbreeding. The Mexican mint operated under his name for over three decades, producing cob coinage (macuquinas) whose irregular flans and hand-hammered technique made them notoriously difficult to authenticate, a problem that fueled counterfeiting networks across the Caribbean trade routes. His death in 1700 without an heir directly triggered the War of the Spanish Succession, rendering coins struck in his final years the last gold issues of Habsburg Mexico.