4 Escudos - Felipe V

The 4 escudos of Felipe V from Mexico City fall within the transition period between cob coinage and the milled "columnario" series — a reform driven not by aesthetics but by rampant fraud. Clipped cobs had become so debased and irregular in practice that colonial commerce and European trade partners were demanding a more accountable product. The Mexico City mint began full milled production in 1732, making these among the earliest machine-struck gold pieces from the Western Hemisphere.

Felipe V himself never saw the New World mint that bore his name. He died in 1746, one year before this type ceased production.