Florin (English coin)

This article is about the 1344 gold florin. For the 19th- and 20th-century "silver" florin worth two shillings, see Florin (British coin).
Obverse

The English florin, sometimes known as the double leopard, was an attempt in 1344 by Edward III to produce gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England. It was authorised on 27 January 1344, and struck from 108 grains (6.99829 grams) of nominal pure ('fine') gold and had a value of six shillings (equivalent to 30 modern pence).[1][2][3]

The continental florin, based on a French coin and ultimately on coins issued in Florence in 1252, was a standard coin (3.50 g fine gold) widely used internationally. The newly-introduced English florin at twice this nominal weight was ultimately found to be wrongly tariffed, resulting in it being unacceptable to merchants. It was almost immediately withdrawn from circulation and in August 1344, after only a few months, it was replaced by the more successful gold noble (7.80g gold, valued at 6s 8d).

  1. ^ Great Britain Royal Mint (1906). Catalogue of the Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies, and Seals in the Museum of the Royal Mint (volume 1 ed.). H.M. Stationery Office. p. 40. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. ^ Emma Howard (August 2018). Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2018: Predecimal Issues. Spink. ISBN 978-1-907427-63-3.
  3. ^ Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom. 46th edition standard catalogue of British coins, 2011.