Summary

Silver coin; Denomination: Florin
Royal Mint, London
Queen Victoria (1837-1901)

The florin was introduced in 1849 as the first move towards decimalization of the British coinage, it was 1/10th of a pound or 2 shillings. This, the second issue, is known as the "Gothic florin" because of the use of Gothic lettering in the legend.

Obverse Description

Crowned bust of the Queen facing left, the dress decorated with roses, thistles and shamrocks; at edge below the bust in small letters the artist's initials W.W. (William Wyon); around in Gothic letters, Victoria d: g: brit: reg: f: d: mdccclii

Reverse Description

Four crowned shields forming a cross around a rose, the shields bear the arms of England, top and bottom, Scotland at right and Ireland at left; between shields under arched canopy, two roses, a thistle and a shamrock; around above, One florin; around below, one tenth of a pound, in Gothic letters.

Edge Description

Milled

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