2 Escudos - Carlos III

Carlos III's colonial gold coinage was produced under the "milled" or macuquina reform that had been standardizing New World output since the mid-eighteenth century. The Santiago mint in Chile was among the smaller colonial gold producers, and its two-escudo pieces from this reign survive in comparatively modest numbers relative to the Lima or Mexico City output. Santiago's assayer initials stamped into these coins during this period shift across the reign — a detail that allows precise attribution within the 1773–1789 window and that serious specialists use to narrow individual strikes to specific years.