4 Escudos - Charles IV

Charles IV ascended the Spanish throne in 1788, and the Potosí mint — operating at over 13,000 feet in the Bolivian altiplano — continued striking gold escudos under his effigy throughout the turbulent decade that followed. His reign coincided with the Napoleonic crisis that ultimately forced his abdication in 1808 in favor of his son Ferdinand, then almost immediately in favor of Napoleon's brother Joseph. That political collapse effectively ended the colonial minting authority that had produced this type.

Potosí gold of this period frequently shows adjustment marks from the assayer's file, a consequence of strict weight tolerances enforced at the Casa de Moneda.