4 Escudos - Carlos III portrait of Fernando VI

Carlos III ascended the Spanish throne in 1759 following the death of his half-brother Fernando VI, who died childless and increasingly incapacitated by mental illness. The Popayán mint, operating in what is now southern Colombia, had accumulated dies and punches bearing Fernando's portrait before the transition — rather than waste them, the mint continued striking coins with the old effigy under the new king's name and titles. This hybrid issue is the direct product of that administrative lag, a colonial minting practice that troubled Madrid considerably less than it troubles modern collectors trying to attribute pieces correctly.