4 Escudos - Charles IV

Charles IV ascended the Spanish throne in December 1788 following the death of his father Charles III, creating an administrative gap that resulted in coins struck in his name carrying both the 1789 and 1790 assayer dates during the transition period. Potosí, operating at over 13,000 feet elevation in present-day Bolivia, was the most productive mint in the Spanish colonial system — its gold coinage of this period funded a monarchy already straining under the financial demands of European coalition warfare.

The KM#67 type is distinguished from closely related issues by the assayer initial, with the P.R. combination being the relevant marker for pieces from this transitional window.