4 Real Guatemala Silver

1793, Guatemala, Charles IV. Spanish Colonial Silver 4 Reales Coin

Mint Year: 1793 References: KM-52. Denomination: 4 Reales Mint Place: Nueva Grenaada (G) Condition: Tooled (shaved and re-engraved edge), otherwise VF+ Weight: 12.31gm (the underweight is caused by the tooled/reduced edge!) Diameter: 33mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed profile bust of Charles IV right.   Legend: CAROLUS . IIII . DEI . GRATIA . 1793 . Translation: "Charles IV by the Grace of God, 1793."

Reverse: Crowned Spanish* arms between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with PLVS VLTRA motto. Legend: .HISPAN[IARUM].ET IND[IARUM].REX.NG[mint initials].4R[EALES] .M[assayser initial]. Translation: "King of the Spains and the Indies, Nueva Guatemala [mint], 4 reales".

Pillar coins were a great improvement over cobs in that they were of a uniform size and weight without cracks or uneven edges. They had a deep full strike with all information clearly visible and were difficult to clip or counterfeit. Denominations for this new coinage included the one half, one, two, four and eight reales coins.

Charles IV (November 11, 1748 – January 20, 1819) was King of Spain from December 14, 1788 until his abdication on March 19, 1808.

Charles was the second son of Charles III and his     wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Portici, while his father     was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother don Felipe was passed     over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic.

Charles had inherited a great frame and immense     physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of     August II of Poland. When young he was fond of wrestling with the     strongest countrymen he could find. He was considered by many to be     intellectually sluggish and quite credulous.   His wife Maria Luisa of Parma, on the other hand, was seen by many     (including by the painter Francisco Goya) as a vicious and coarse woman     who thoroughly dominated the king. During his father’s lifetime he was     led by her into court intrigues which aimed at driving the king’s     favourite minister, Count of Floridablanca, from office, and replacing     him by Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the     “Aragonese” party.

After he succeeded to the throne in 1788 his one     serious occupation was hunting. Affairs were left to be directed by his     wife and her, alleged, lover Manuel de Godoy. Although Godoy   essentially   took over his wife and his office, the king was favourable   towards him   for all his life. When terrified by the French Revolution   he turned to   the Inquisition to help him against the party which   would have carried   the reforming policy of Charles III much further.   But he never took more   than a passive part in the direction of his own   government. He simply   obeyed the impulse given him by the queen and   Godoy. In 1803, after   smallpox had affected his daughter María Luísa,   the king commissioned   his doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis to bring   the vaccine to the   Spanish colonies on state expenses.

He had a profound belief in his divine right and the     sanctity of his person. He thought it very important to seem a very     powerful monarch, although his kingdom was treated as a mere dependency     by France and his throne was dominated by the queen and her lover.   Spain   allied with France and supported the Continental Blockade, but   withdrew   after the Battle of Trafalgar. When Napoleon won from Prussia   in 1807,   Godoy returned to the French side, but France no longer   considered Spain   a worthy ally. But even the alliance with France, as   it was, made   Godoy’s rule unpopular and fueled the partido   fernandista, the   supporters of Ferdinand, who favored a close   relationship with Great   Britain.