Great Britain 1878 florin
This specimen was lot 34990 in Heritage sale 3038 (Dallas, January 2015), where it sold for $646.25. The catalog description[1] noted, "Victoria Gothic Florin 1878 MS64 PCGS. Die # 8. Lustrous with silver-gray toning. A pleasing example of the type." This florin was Britain's first attempt to decimalize the pound (1 florin = 2 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: 1,787,000 plus proofs and KM 746.4 (no die number).
Specification: 11.31 g, 0.925 fine silver, .336 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 746.2, S-3895.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage Signature Auction 3037, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
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