Colombia-Numismatics · colonial Popayán
8 escudos coin, 1801
8 escudos · Popayán P–JF · 1801
An 1801 gold 8 escudos struck at Popayán for Charles IV. The obverse carries the bust and the date; the reverse, the value 8 S and the marks P · JF.
Catalog facts
- Reference
- KM# 62.2 · Cayón 14557 · Fr#52 · Numista N#22976
- Year
- 1801
- Metal
- Gold .875 (type specification)
- Mint
- Popayán (P)
- Condition
- Unslabbed; no grade assigned. Date, 8 S, and P–JF readable. Photographs do not authenticate the disc (private collection)
Obverse
Reverse
The piece
In 1801 the Popayán mint, at work since 1758, was still striking milled gold in the name of Charles IV. This disc shows the date 1801 under the portrait, the value 8 S, and, on either side of the fleece, the marks P and JF. That is type KM# 62.2 — Cayón 14557, Friedberg 52 — not Santa Fe’s KM# 62.1 with mintmark NR–JJ, and not the 1 escudo of the same mint and assayer (KM# 56.2). Normalized obverse legend: CAROL · IIII · D · G · HISP · ET IND · R · 1801 (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.” Reverse: IN · UTROQ · FELIX · AUSPICE · DEO, for In utroque felix, auspice Deo. The 8 at left and S at right mark eight escudos, the onza of the colonial system. English-speaking collectors sometimes call that piece a doubloon; the catalogue denomination here stays 8 escudos. Gold .875, a type weight of 27.0674 g, and a module of 37 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 1801 P–JF without a figure, NGC does not publish a mintage for that date, and BanRep’s coin tables begin in 1987. Unslabbed; photographs do not authenticate the metal.
Scarcity
Numista covers type KM# 62.2 (N#22976) and lists the 1801 P–JF combination, without a mintage. CoinVarieties leaves that date and assayer without a figure. No slab census and no catalogue value are published here. The 1801 P–JF 1 escudo is a separate record in this collection.
Sources
- Numista — 8 escudos, Charles IV, Colombia (N#22976) (opens in a new tab)
KM# 62.2 for the P mint of Popayán; 1801 P–JF is listed under that variety. Type gold .875, 27.0674 g, and 37 mm. No mintage and no value are cited here.
- CoinVarieties — Popayán 8 escudos, Charles IV, 1801 P–JF (opens in a new tab)
Cayón 14557 and KM# 62.2. Leaves the mintage unstated. The Heritage lot it illustrates is another specimen; prices are not published.
- CoinVarieties — Popayán Charles IV 8 escudos type, Friedberg 52 (opens in a new tab)
Assigns Fr-52 to the Popayán KM# 62.2 type. That page is 1796, not this disc, and prices are not published.
- NGC — Colombia 8 escudos, KM# 62.2, 1791–1808 (opens in a new tab)
Lists 1801P JF under KM# 62.2 and does not publish a mintage for that date. Values on that guide are not cited here.
- Banrepcultural Encyclopedia — The Popayán mint (opens in a new tab)
The house began striking in 1758. Mint context, not authentication of this disc.
Related pieces
Other records from the same issuer or era in this case.
