2 Escudos - Carlos IV bust of Carlos III, CAROL IV

Carlos IV ascended the Spanish throne in December 1788, but the Santiago mint continued striking coins under his name using the portrait of his father, Carlos III — a stop-gap measure while an approved likeness of the new king was engraved and distributed to colonial mints. This transitional type, produced only during 1789–1790, represents one of the shortest-lived portrait combinations in the Chilean colonial series. The Santiago mint received its royal warrant in 1743 and remained one of the more reliable gold producers in Spanish South America, drawing on Andean placer deposits.

KM#40 is specifically cataloged as the "bust of Carlos III" transitional issue — distinct from the later Carlos IV portrait coinage — making attribution straightforward when the obverse die is examined against its successor type.