1 Gold Escudo — 1820

Enlarge Obverse (left) and reverse (right) — Notofilia.com Collection

Like the 2-shield piece in the collection, this is an issue “hybrid” or “imaginary bust”: the legend namesFernando VII(“FERDND. VII”), but the portrait retains the bust of its predecessor,Carlos IV, because the official stamps with the face of Ferdinand VII were never integrated into all the denominations of the mint of Bogotá during the turbulent years of the war. Minted in 1820, it is the last full year of Spanish royalist control over the Bogotá mint before it definitively passed to the nascent Republic of Colombia.

Country / Viceroyalty New Kingdom of Granada (present-day Colombia)

Mint / Assayer Santa Fe de Bogotá (brand “NR”) · Assayer JF (Manuel José de Forero and Juan José de Francisco)

Reign Ferdinand VII (1808–1820, title in the mint of Bogotá)

Year of minting 1820

Denomination 1 Gold Escudo

Composition Gold .875 (21 carats)

Gross weight ~3.38 g

Fine gold content 0.0950 troy oz (~2.96 g pure gold)

Diameter ~19 mm

Manufacturing Method Machine minting (flywheel press)

Edge Reeded edge (diagonal pattern)

Catalog references KM #64.1 · Restrepo M87 · Friedberg Fr-51 · Numista N# 61388

Obverse and Reverse

• Obverse — The Bust:bust of Charles IV, dressed and armored, facing right (serving as a portrait of Ferdinand VII). Legend:FERDND. VII. D. G. HISP. ET IND. R.(“Fernando VII, by the Grace of God, King of Spain and the Indies”). The date “1820” is centered under the bust.
• Reverse — The Crowned Shield:crowned royal coat of arms of Spain, surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Legend:IN. UTROQ. FELIX. A. D.(abbreviation of “In utroque felix auspice Deo”, “In both worlds, happy under the guidance of God”). The central shield is flanked by the split designation “1” (left) and “S” (right); in the lower register, the mint mark “NR” (Nuevo Reino, Bogotá) followed by the assayer's initials “JF”.

This piece was minted in 1820, at the transition between Santa Fe’s colonial production and the types of the new Republic of Colombia. The Mint had maintained stable production, mainly in gold, until the end of Spanish rule; from 1820 it began striking the new republican issues. This royalist escudo therefore stands at the boundary between two monetary systems.

— Historical Context Note