Great Britain 1899 florin
This specimen was lot 2672 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN: Victoria, 1837-1901, AR florin, 1899, a lovely example, PCGS graded MS63." The early 1840's saw a vigorous debate among government officials on the merits of decimalizing the cumbersome British coinage. This was not achieved until the 1960's but a new coin was introduced in 1848, the florin, worth two shillings or one-tenth of a pound. It proved popular and was struck in considerable numbers but it did not displace the half crown or crown. The "Old Head" type was struck 1893-1901.
Recorded mintage: 3,970,000.
Specification: 11.31 g, 0.925 fine silver, 28.3 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-781, S-3939.
- 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]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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