4 Reales - Fernando VI

Fernando VI's brief reign produced relatively few cob-style reales before the Mexico City mint transitioned toward the milled coinage mandated by Philip V's 1728 reforms — reforms his successor inherited but only fully implemented across all denominations over the following decade. The 4 reales denomination occupied an awkward middle position in colonial commerce: too small for large mercantile transactions, too valuable for everyday exchange, leaving many examples in hoards rather than pockets.

Mexico City's macuquina production was officially phased out by royal decree in 1732 for higher denominations, making any cob-style 4 reales from this period a late survival of a minting tradition stretching back to the sixteenth century.