CHARLES IV

The year 1791 marked the first time coins bearing the new official bust of Charles IV were minted in the Americas (Charles III had died on December 14, 1788). The new silver coins featured the so-called Roman-style bust, featuring a laurel wreath. In gold coins, it appeared in armour, mantle, and the Order of the Golden Fleece, but notably without a laurel crown. The bust was the work of the chief engraver, Pedro González de Sepúlveda. However, in an exceptional case and only for a couple of months, gold coins (across the full series) minted in Potosi featured a laureate bust—which quickly disappeared in subsequent issues. The reason behind this anomaly remains unknown. It was, in fact, illegal to alter the official busts sent from Madrid. At the time, the chief engraver of the mint, José Fernández Córdoba, was nearly blind, so the modification likely did not come from him. Rather, it appears to have been carried out by some of his assistants—who, given the implications of altering official dies, must have acted with the approval of a superior. The altered design may have been inspired by the proclamation medal from Madrid, which was also the work of Sepúlveda. In any case, the Secretary of State quickly ordered a return to the original dies, making these coins particularly rare and noteworthy. Among these, a distinction should be made between those with a large bow tie and those with a smaller one.