Item number: A3725

Reference number: KM#436.1

Year: AD 1803

Material: Gold (.875)

Size: 27.5 x 28.0 mm

Weight: 13.54 g recorded

Manufactured by: Madrid Royal Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This is a four-escudo gold coin struck in AD 1803 at the Royal Mint of Madrid and issued in the name of Charles IV of Spain. At the time, one escudo was valued at approximately sixteen silver reales.

The obverse presents a right-facing, armoured and robed half-length portrait of Charles IV. It is encircled by the Latin legend “CAROL · IIII · D · G · HISP · ET IND · R ·”, an abbreviation of “Carolus IV Dei gratia Hispaniarum et Indiarum Rex”, meaning “Charles IV, by the grace of God, King of the Spains and of the Indies”; the title “King of the Indies” denoted the Spanish monarch’s sovereignty over the American dominions. The date “1803” appears below.

The reverse depicts the great Spanish coat of arms, arranged in six compartments distributed in three horizontal rows of two. Reading from the upper left and proceeding downward, the first compartment bears the vertical stripes of Aragon, combined with the diagonally divided shield of Aragon-Sicily displaying vertical bars and two displayed eagles. The second compartment comprises the three horizontal bars of Austria and the fleur-de-lis with a parti-coloured border of the Valois-Burgundy line. The third shows six fleur-de-lis disposed in a ring, representing the Farnese family. The fourth contains seven balls, one charged with a fleur-de-lis, the emblem of the Medici. The fifth bears the bendy field with border of Capetian Burgundy, and the sixth the rampant lion of the Duchy of Brabant. The base of the great shield is divided: the left half holds the lion of Flanders, the right the eagle of Tyrol. At the centre is a small quartered escutcheon with the triple-towered castles of Castile in the first and fourth quarters, and the crowned rampant lions of León in the second and third; at its point is the pomegranate of Granada. The entire shield is surmounted by the Spanish royal crown and encircled by the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Around it runs the Latin legend “IN · UTROQ · FELIX · · AUSPICE · DEO ·”, the abbreviated form of “In Utroque Felix Auspice Deo”, meaning “Fortunate in both under God’s protection”, the “both” being generally taken to refer to Spain’s European and American realms, signalling the monarchy’s claim to imperial prosperity on both continents. The crowned letter “M” below marks the Royal Mint of Madrid, while the letters “FA” are the initials of the mint officials Francisco Herrera and Antonio Goicoechea, likely the die-sinkers and assayers. The dies for this coin were engraved by Pedro González de Sepúlveda, who became the primer grabador (chief engraver) of the Casa de la Moneda de Segovia in the later eighteenth century. In AD 1782 he succeeded to the posts of Director de Grabado (Director of Engraving) of the royal mints and Grabador de Cámara (Court Engraver). In AD 1804 he was appointed head of the newly created “Departamento de Grabado y Construcción de Instrumentos y Máquinas para la Moneda” (Department of Engraving and of the Construction of Instruments and Machinery for Coining) within the Royal Mint, and on 28 August AD 1809 his position was formally confirmed by Joseph Bonaparte.

The Spanish escudo was first issued in AD 1535 to support the campaign against Tunis. The name “escudo” means “shield” in Spanish, and as Spain’s influence expanded internationally, many other states also adopted coins whose names and types referred to the shield.

Charles IV succeeded his father Charles III in AD 1788 and reigned until his abdication in AD 1808. His rule coincided with the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, a period during which Spain’s monarchy and imperial structure came under acute strain. Although nominally the sovereign, real power increasingly resided with his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma, and his trusted minister Manuel de Godoy. Charles IV showed little inclination for active governance, leaving major decisions in their hands. Under his reign Spain allied with revolutionary France in AD 1796 and declared war on Britain, actions that culminated in severe consequences, most notably the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in AD 1805, which gravely weakened the Spanish navy and its overseas empire. Military failure, economic difficulties and unpopular domestic policies rapidly eroded the prestige of the crown.

In monetary affairs Charles IV largely continued the gold-coin reform initiated by Charles III in AD 1772, without introducing substantive innovations of his own. However, lax administrative control led to declining quality and inconsistent standards in coinage produced in the overseas mints.

In March AD 1808 the Tumult of Aranjuez forced the dismissal of Godoy and compelled Charles IV to abdicate in favour of his son Ferdinand VII. Soon afterwards Napoleon summoned both father and son to Bayonne, overturned the Bourbon monarchy, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain. Charles IV spent the remainder of his life in exile and died in Rome in AD 1819. His reign is widely regarded as a major turning point in Spanish history, marking the decline of Bourbon absolutism, prefiguring the gradual loss of Spain’s American empire, and inaugurating the prolonged instability that characterised nineteenth-century Spain.

物件編號: A3725

參考書目編號: KM#436.1

年代: 公元 1803 年

材質: 金 (875‰)

尺寸: 27.5 x 28.0 mm

重量: 紀載為 13.54 g

製造地: 馬德里皇家鑄幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2025

這是一枚公元1803年，由馬德里皇家鑄幣廠鑄造，以西班牙國王卡洛斯四世之名發行的4埃斯庫多金幣。在當時，1埃斯庫多約等於16里爾銀幣。

金幣的正面是卡洛斯四世的半身像，披甲著袍，面朝右。周圍環繞著拉丁簡寫「CAROL · IIII · D · G · HISP · ET IND · R ·」，即「Carolus IV Dei gratia Hispaniarum et Indiarum Rex」，意為「卡洛斯三世，蒙上帝恩典，西班牙與印度國王」，印度國王為西班牙君主用以體現其於美洲主權的頭銜。下方「1803」為發行年。

金幣的背面為西班牙的大盾徽，為六分式排列，分為三排，每排兩部分，左起由上而下依序排列。第一部分左半的豎條紋，與右半以對角分割的豎條紋與兩隻展翼雄鷹，代表阿拉貢與阿拉貢-西西里王國。第二部分左半的三道橫紋，與右半的鳶尾花佐以雙色鑲邊，分別代表奧地利與瓦盧瓦-勃根第公國。第三部分的六朵鳶尾環狀排列，代表了法爾內塞家族。第四部份的七個球體，其中之一有著鳶尾花，代表了麥地奇家族。第五部分的鑲邊斜紋，代表了卡佩-勃根第公國。第六部分的人立雄獅，代表低地地區的布拉邦公國。大盾徽下方盾尖分為兩半，左半為法蘭德斯伯國之獅，右半為提洛伯國之鷹。中央小盾徽分為四個象限，左上與右下部分的三尖頂塔樓，代表卡斯提爾王國。右上與左下的戴冠人立雄獅，代表里昂王國。小盾徽盾尖的石榴，代表格拉納達王國。大盾徽之上為西班牙王冠，盾徽則環繞以金羊毛鏈章。外圈則環繞拉丁簡寫「IN · UTROQ · FELIX · · AUSPICE · DEO ·」，即「In Utroque Felix Auspice Deo」，意為「兩者皆繁盛，蒙上帝庇佑」，「兩者」可能是指歐陸與新大陸，展現在新大陸強化統治的意圖。下方飾有王冠的「M」為馬德里皇家鑄幣廠的鑄幣標記，「FA」則分別是鑄幣廠官員弗朗西斯科·埃雷拉(Francisco Herrera) 與安東尼奧·戈伊科切亞(Antonio Goicoechea)的署名，可能是錢模雕刻師與驗金師。硬幣的鑄版則由雕刻家佩德羅·岡薩雷斯·德·塞普爾維達(Pedro González de Sepúlveda)設計。十八世紀後半，佩德羅成為塞哥維亞鑄幣廠(Casa de la Moneda de Segovia)的首席雕刻師。公元1782年，他接任皇家鑄幣廠的雕刻總監(Director de Grabado)與宮廷雕刻師(Grabador de Cámara)的職位。公元1804年，其獲委任領導新設立的皇家鑄幣廠(Real Casa de la Moneda)「雕刻與儀器與機械製造部門」(Departamento de Grabado y Construcción de Instrumentos y Máquinas para la Moneda)，並於公元1809年8月28日由約瑟夫·波拿巴(José Bonaparte)正式確認留任。

西班牙埃斯庫多於公元1535年首度發行，為支援對突尼斯的戰爭。埃斯庫多即西班牙語中的盾。隨著西班牙的擴張在國際上擴大影響力。許多國家亦出現以「盾」為名，有類似形制的硬幣。

卡洛斯四世(Charles IV)於公元1788年繼承其父卡洛斯三世，成為西班牙國王，直至公元1808年退位。他的統治恰逢法國大革命與拿破崙崛起的動盪時期，西班牙的君主制度與帝國體系在這股歐洲巨變中飽受衝擊。儘管名義上是國王，但真正掌握政權的卻是他的王后帕爾馬的瑪麗亞·路易莎(Maria Luisa of Parma)與他深信不疑的首相馬努埃爾·戈多伊(Manuel de Godoy)。卡洛斯四世本身對治理缺乏興趣，使得政治決策屢屢受兩人主導。於其治下，西班牙於公元1796年與法國革命政府結盟並向英國宣戰，這些外交與軍事決策最終導致嚴重後果，尤其是公元1805年的特拉法加海戰慘敗，使西班牙海軍與海外帝國的力量大幅削弱。軍事挫敗、經濟困境以及國內不受歡迎的政策，使西班牙王室的威望迅速下滑。

幣制上，卡洛斯四世延續卡洛斯三世於公元1772年開始的金幣改革，並未加以革新。但由於行政管理的鬆散，使海外鑄幣出現了廣泛品質下滑的現象。

公元1808年3月，阿蘭赫斯騷亂爆發，反對戈多伊的力量迫使卡洛斯四世退位，由其子費迪南七世繼位。隨後，拿破崙召集父子二人前往巴約訥(Bayonne)，趁機推翻波旁王朝，並將其兄弟約瑟夫·波拿巴(Joseph Bonaparte)安置為西班牙國王。卡洛斯四世此後流亡海外，並於公元1819年在羅馬去世。卡洛斯四世的統治常被視為西班牙歷史的重要轉折點，它象徵波旁專制王權的衰落，也預示著西班牙帝國在美洲領地的逐步瓦解，並成為十九世紀西班牙政局長期動盪的開端。