Colombia-Numismatics · colonial Popayán

2 escudos coin, 1791

2 escudos · Popayán P–SF · 1791

A 1791 gold 2 escudos struck at Popayán in the name of Charles IV, with the bust of Charles III. The obverse carries the ordinal IV and the date; the reverse, the value 2 S and the marks P · SF.

Catalog facts

Reference: KM# 51.2 · Restrepo 88.6 · Cayón 14168 · Fr#48 · Hernández 734 · Numista N#52841
Year: 1791
Metal: Gold .875 (type specification)
Mint: Popayán (P)
Condition: Unslabbed; no grade assigned. Worn portrait and contact marks; date 1791, ordinal IV, 2 S, and P–SF readable. Photographs do not authenticate the disc (private collection)

Obverse: bust facing right, legend with IV, and the date 1791.

Reverse: crowned arms and the Golden Fleece; 2 S; marks P and SF beside the fleece.

The piece

In 1791 the Popayán mint, at work since 1758, was striking milled gold in the name of Charles IV. This disc shows the date 1791 under the portrait and, in the legend, CAROL · IV · D · G · HISP · ET IND · R (IV, not IIII). The reverse reads the value 2 S and, on either side of the fleece, the marks P and SF. That combination is the transitional type KM# 51.2 — Restrepo 88.6, Cayón 14168, Friedberg 48; Numista assigns Hernández 734 to the 1791 P–SF — not KM# 60.2, the type with Charles IV’s own bust (Restrepo 90.2, Cayón 14169, Friedberg 57), which on this collection’s 1801 escudo carries IIII. CoinVarieties separates, for Popayán and the same assayer, the bust of Charles III from the bust of Charles IV, and leaves the mintage unstated. The obverse legend expands to Carolus IV Dei Gratia Hispaniarum et Indiarum Rex: “Charles IV, by the grace of God, king of the Spains and the Indies.” The reverse, IN · UTROQ · FELIX · AUSPICE · DEO, stands for In utroque felix, auspice Deo. The 2 at left and the S at right mark two escudos. Gold .875 and a type weight of 6.77 g are CoinVarieties figures; Numista gives type KM# 51 a weight of 6.75 g and a module of 22 mm. This disc was not weighed or measured. No mintage is verified; BanRep’s coin tables begin in 1987. Unslabbed; photographs do not authenticate the metal. It is not a Madrid 2 escudos, nor Popayán’s 1801 1 escudo.

Scarcity

Numista covers the Charles III bust type (N#52841) and lists 1791 P–SF as KM# 51.2, without a mintage. CoinVarieties leaves that date and assayer without a figure and distinguishes KM# 60.2, the type with Charles IV’s own bust. No slab census and no hammer are published here. Popayán’s 1801 P–JF 1 escudo and 8 escudos are separate records in this collection.

Sources

Numista — 2 escudos, Charles IV, portrait of Charles III, Colombia (N#52841) (opens in a new tab)
KM# 51.2 and Hernández 734 for 1791 P–SF. Type gold .875, 6.75 g, and 22 mm. No mintage and no value are cited here.
CoinVarieties — Popayán 2 escudos, 1791 P–SF, bust of Charles III (opens in a new tab)
Cayón 14168, KM# 51.2, Friedberg 48, and Restrepo 88.6. Type gold .875 and 6.77 g. Leaves the mintage unstated. The lot it illustrates is another specimen; prices are not published.
CoinVarieties — Popayán 2 escudos, 1791 P–SF, bust of Charles IV (opens in a new tab)
That is KM# 60.2 — Cayón 14169, Friedberg 57, Restrepo 90.2 — the other bust of the same date and assayer. Not this record, and prices 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.