Great Britain 1857 florin
This specimen was lot 1514 in Sincona sale 59 (Zürich, October 2019), where it sold for 375 CHF (about US$454 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, Victoria, 1837-1901. 1 Florin 1857, London. Gutes vorzüglich. Feine Patina. (kingdom of Great Britain, Victoria, 1837-1901, florin of 1857, London mint. Good extremely fine, Nicely toned.)"
This florin was Britain's first attempt to decimalize the pound (one florin = two shillings = 1/10 pound). It must have been popular, as it was struck in several variations 1848-87. There was even a brief issue of double florins. Full decimalization would have to wait until the 1960's, when the florin became the ten pence coin.
Recorded mintage: 1,671,000 + proofs.
Specification: 11.31 g, 0.925 fine silver, .336 troy oz ASW, this specimen 11.29 g.
Catalog reference: Seaby 3891, KM 746.1.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Rayner, P. Alan, and Maurice Bull, English Silver Coinage from 1649, 6th Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2015.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona Auction 59: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals; Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2019.
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