Colombia-Numismatics · colonial Popayán

1 escudo coin, 1808

1 escudo · Popayán P–JF · 1808

An 1808 gold escudo struck at Popayán in the name of Charles IV. The obverse carries the bust, the legend CAROL IIII, and the date; the reverse, the value 1 S and the marks P · JF.

Catalog facts

Reference: KM# 56.2 · Restrepo 85.40 · Cayón 14140 · Fr#59 · Numista N#52837
Year: 1808
Metal: Gold .875 (type specification)
Mint: Popayán (P)
Condition: Unslabbed; no grade assigned. Flattened portrait, hairlines and contact marks; date, CAROL IIII legend, 1 S, and P–JF readable, with the second assayer initial worn. Photographs do not authenticate the disc (private collection)

Obverse: bust of Charles IV facing right, legend with IIII, and the date 1808.

Reverse: crowned arms and the Golden Fleece; 1 S; marks P and JF beside the fleece.

The piece

In 1808 the Popayán mint, at work since 1758, was still striking milled gold. This disc shows the date 1808 under the portrait, the value 1 S, and, on either side of the fleece, the mark P and the initials JF; the second assayer letter is worn. Normalized obverse legend: CAROL · IIII · D · G · HISP · ET IND · R · 1808 (IIII, not IV); it expands to Carolus IIII Dei Gratia Hispaniarum et Indiarum Rex: “Charles IV, by the grace of God, king of the Spains and the Indies.” That keeps it in type KM# 56.2 — Restrepo 85.40, Cayón 14140, Friedberg 59, Numista N#52837. The Ferdinand VII escudo of the same mint and year (KM# 64.2, Hernández 691, Friedberg 66) keeps the Charles IV bust and changes the legend to FERDND VII. Numista notes that Hernández’s national catalogue does not confirm an 1808 Charles IV issue at either Nuevo Reino or Popayán. Cód. 688 in that book is the Popayán type with Charles IV’s legend and bust and the P–JF assay; this record does not treat it as a verified 1808 row. CoinVarieties records the 1808 P–JF Charles IV piece as Restrepo 85.40 and notes that Restrepo lists it as an 1808/7 overdate; here the last digit reads 8, and an underlying 7 is not asserted. The reverse motto of the type is In utroque felix, auspice Deo. Gold .875, a type weight of about 3.38 g, and a module of 19 mm are Numista figures: this disc was not weighed or measured. Numista gives the type a reeded edge and medal alignment; these photographs do not show the edge and do not fix this disc’s axis. No mintage is verified: CoinVarieties leaves the striking unstated, and BanRep’s coin tables begin in 1987. Unslabbed; photographs do not authenticate the metal. The 1801 Popayán 1 escudo P–JF is a separate record in this collection.

Scarcity

Numista covers type KM# 56.2 (N#52837) and lists 1808 P–JF, noting that Hernández does not confirm that year. CoinVarieties documents the combination as Cayón 14140, Restrepo 85.40, and Friedberg 59, without a mintage. No slab census and no hammer are published here. The 1801 P–JF 1 escudo is a separate record in this collection.

Sources

Numista — 1 escudo, Charles IV, Colombia (N#52837) (opens in a new tab)
Lists 1808 P–JF as KM# 56.2 and notes that Hernández does not confirm that year. Type gold .875, 3.38 g, and 19 mm. No mintage and no value are cited here.
CoinVarieties — Popayán 1 escudo, Charles IV, 1808 P–JF (opens in a new tab)
Cayón 14140, Restrepo 85.40, KM# 56.2, and Friedberg 59. Leaves the mintage unstated and recalls Restrepo’s 1808/7 overdate, which this photograph does not assert. The illustrated specimen is another coin; prices are not published.
Numista — 1 escudo, Ferdinand VII with the bust of Charles IV (N#61388) (opens in a new tab)
The 1808 P–JF of that series is KM# 64.2, Hernández 691, with the legend FERDND VII. That is not the legend on this disc.
Hernández — Coins and Banknotes of Colombia, 8th ed. 2023 (Numista L100183) (opens in a new tab)
Cód. 688 is the Popayán type with Charles IV’s legend and bust. Numista states that this book does not confirm the year 1808. Price columns and plates are not published.
Banrepcultural Encyclopedia — The Popayán mint (opens in a new tab)
The house began striking in 1758. Mint context, not authentication of this disc.