4 Escudos - Carlos III

Carlos III's monetary reforms of the 1770s standardized gold coinage across the Spanish empire, but Mexico City's output during this specific window reflects a transitional minting period — the old screw presses were being phased out in favor of new machinery imported from Spain, and the resulting planchet quality is notoriously inconsistent across the run. Striking pressure varied considerably, and edge milling on pieces from these years is frequently incomplete.

Carlos III died in December 1788, making the final issues of this type among the last gold struck in his name at any American mint.