8 Escudos - Carlos IV

The Potosí mint operated at over 4,000 meters elevation in what is now Bolivia, drawing on the silver wealth of Cerro Rico — but the gold for these escudos traveled a different route entirely, sourced largely from alluvial deposits in New Granada and carried overland before striking. Carlos IV's reign coincided with the Napoleonic disruptions that would ultimately strangle the supply lines feeding Potosí, and production of the 8 escudos grew erratic after 1804 as the Crown's financial position deteriorated and bullion flows became unreliable.

The assayer initial on each piece determines its precise window of production within this seventeen-year span.