Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
4 Reales - Carlos IV
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1807 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Reales |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of King Carlos IV facing right, rendered in high relief in the neoclassical style. The king wears a laurel wreath and a lace jabot visible at the truncation of the neck. The peripheral legend reads CAROLUS • IIII • DEI • GRATIA •, interrupted at the base by the mint date. The field is smooth and unadorned, with the portrait dominating the coin face. The obverse is framed by a milled border of fine denticles. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | CAROLUS • IIII • DEI • GRATIA • 1790 • (Translation: Carlos IIII by the grace of God) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Carlos IV ascended to the Spanish throne in 1788, and the Guatemala mint's transition to his coinage was complicated by the administrative distance from Madrid — new dies traveled slowly, and early strikes of this type show subtle portrait inconsistencies as local engravers made corrections between shipments. The Guatemala City mint, rebuilt after the 1773 earthquake that destroyed the colonial capital at Santiago de los Caballeros, was still finding its operational footing through much of this series' run.
Production effectively ceased as Napoleonic disruption severed colonial supply chains after 1807.