4 Escudos - Fernando VI

Fernando VI's reign saw the Mexico City Mint producing cob-style gold at a moment when Spain was actively debating the transition to milled coinage — a reform that would come under his successor. These macuquina pieces were struck by hammer on irregularly shaped planchets cut from cast bars, making every example dimensionally unique despite nominally identical specifications. The assayer responsible for each piece was required to initial the coin, and accountability failures during this era led to at least one formal investigation of the Mexico City assay office in the late 1740s.