British Two Shilling coin
Encyclopedia
The British two shilling coin, also known as the florin or "two bob bit" was issued from 1849 until 1967. It was worth one tenth of a pound
, or twenty-four old pence. It should not be confused with the medieval gold florin
, which was nominally worth six shilling
s.
In 1968, in the run-up to decimalisation
, the two shilling coin was superseded by the decimal ten pence coin
, which had the same value and initially the same size and weight. It continued in circulation, alongside the ten pence, until 1993, when the ten pence was reduced in size.
and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound
. The motion was subsequently withdrawn on the understanding that a one-tenth pound coin would be produced to test public opinion. There was considerable discussion about what the coin should be called, with centum, decade, and dime being among the suggestions, before florin was eventually settled upon, partly because of its connection with old English coinage, and partly because other European countries also had coins of approximately the same size and weight called florins.
The first florins were struck in 1849 as silver
coins weighing 11.3 gram
s and having a diameter of 28 millimetres. These first coins would have come as rather a shock to the public, as for the first time in nearly 200 years a British coin featured a portrait of the monarch wearing a crown. Even more of a shock, including (allegedly) to Queen Victoria
herself, was the omission of D G – Dei Gratia ("by the grace of God") – from the coin's inscription, which resulted in it being popularly known as the godless florin. The inscription around the obverse read VICTORIA REGINA 1849. The reverse featured four crowned cruciform shields with a rose in the centre, with the shields separated by a rose, thistle, rose, and a shamrock; the inscription on the reverse was ONE FLORIN ONE TENTH OF A POUND. The "godless florin" may have also been minted in 1850 and 1851 with the 1849 date.
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In 1851, the florin was redesigned in a most unusual way. The diameter was increased to 30 millimetres, and all the lettering on the coin was in Gothic script
, resulting in it being known as the Gothic florin. The date was rendered in Roman numerals
. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) victoria d g britt reg f d mdcccli ( F D – Fidei Defensor, defender of faith), while the reverse read one florin one tenth of a pound. The Gothic Florin was produced each year until 1887 (mdccclxxxvii).
In 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, a new older "Jubilee Head" of the queen was used and the various flora were removed from the reverse and replaced by sceptres between the shields and a Garter Star in the centre. The diameter was reduced to 29.5 millimetres. All the inscriptions were in Latin letters and Arabic numerals
. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, while the reverse read FID DEF BRITT REG date, with no indication of the value. The Jubilee Head issue was released each year between 1887 and 1892.
In 1893, a new "Old Head" showing the veiled head of the queen was introduced, inscribed VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP, together with a completely new reverse showing three shields separated by a rose, shamrock, and thistle surmounted by the Garter crown and inscribed ONE FLORIN TWO SHILLINGS. The diameter was reduced again, to 28.5 millimetres. This issue was released each year between 1893 and 1901.
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Following British custom, when Victoria died and her son ascended to the throne, the florin was redesigned along with all other British coins. The florin of King Edward VII
was minted each year from 1902–1910. It remained at 11.3 grams weight and 28.5 millimetres diameter. The obverse shows the right-facing head of the king, inscribed EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FD IND IMP, while the reverse features a unique design showing Britannia
standing holding a shield with her left hand and a trident with her right, and inscribed ONE FLORIN TWO SHILLINGS date.
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Florins bearing his left-facing effigy were minted in each year of the reign of King George V
(1910–1936) except 1910 and 1934. Whilst the weight and diameter of the coin were unchanged, the metal composition was changed in 1920 from 0.925 silver
to 50% silver, 40% copper, 10% nickel, then again in 1922 to 50% silver, 50% copper, and again in 1927 to 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% nickel, 5% zinc. The design of the reverse was similar to Queen Victoria's Jubilee florin. Until 1926 the inscriptions on the obverse were GEORGIVS V D G BRITT OMN REX F D IND IMP and on the reverse were ONE FLORIN date, while from 1927 the obverse inscriptions were GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX and the reverse ones were FID DEF IND IMP date ONE FLORIN.
, which would have been due to receive approval around the time that the king abdicated in Dec. 1936 – the obverse shows the left-facing effigy of the king inscribed EDWARDVS VIII D G BR OMN REX, while the reverse shows a crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock, with E below the thistle and R below the shamrock, and the inscription FID DEF IND IMP TWO SHILLINGS 1937.
's florins, produced each year between 1937 and 1951, look very like the one planned for his brother Edward VIII. The obverse shows the left-facing effigy of the king inscribed GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX, while the reverse shows a crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock, with G below the thistle and R below the shamrock, and the inscription FID DEF IND IMP TWO SHILLINGS date until 1948, and without the IND IMP from 1949, in acknowledgement of India
's independence. The metal content was changed, as for all British silver coins, from 1947 to 75% copper, 25% nickel. This removal of all the silver meant that most of the earlier coins which contained silver were removed from circulation fairly quickly (see Gresham's law
).
each year between 1953 and 1967, with proof coins again produced in 1970. The obverse shows the Mary Gillick
head of Queen Elizabeth, inscribed ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA BRITT OMN REGINA (1953 only) or ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA (all other years), while the reverse shows a tudor rose
in the centre surrounded by thistles, shamrocks, and leeks, with the inscription FID DEF TWO SHILLINGS date. In accordance with the plan for decimalisation
of the currency (120 years after this denomination was first introduced in the first plan to introduce a decimal currency), from 1968 the decimal ten pence coin was introduced of the same size, weight, and metal composition as the florin. Florins (usually dated 1947 or later) remained in circulation until the size of the decimal ten pence was reduced in 1992, and they were finally demonetised on 1 July 1993.
and Netherlands Antilles
are referred as 盾.
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, or twenty-four old pence. It should not be confused with the medieval gold florin
Florin (English coin)
The Florin or Double Leopard was an attempt in 1344 by English king Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England . It was 108 grains of nominal pure gold and had a value of six shillings The Florin or Double Leopard was an attempt in 1344 by English king...
, which was nominally worth six shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s.
In 1968, in the run-up to decimalisation
Decimal Day
Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
, the two shilling coin was superseded by the decimal ten pence coin
British Ten Pence coin
The British decimal ten pence coin – often pronounced "ten pee" – was issued on 23 April 1968 in preparation for the 1971 decimalisation of the currency. At that time it had the same value, size, and weight as the existing florin , and it may be viewed as a continuation of the older coin...
, which had the same value and initially the same size and weight. It continued in circulation, alongside the ten pence, until 1993, when the ten pence was reduced in size.
Victorian issues (1849–1901)
In 1847 a motion was introduced in Parliament calling for the introduction of a decimal currencyDecimalisation
Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency that is based on one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, most commonly 100....
and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. The motion was subsequently withdrawn on the understanding that a one-tenth pound coin would be produced to test public opinion. There was considerable discussion about what the coin should be called, with centum, decade, and dime being among the suggestions, before florin was eventually settled upon, partly because of its connection with old English coinage, and partly because other European countries also had coins of approximately the same size and weight called florins.
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
coins weighing 11.3 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s and having a diameter of 28 millimetres. These first coins would have come as rather a shock to the public, as for the first time in nearly 200 years a British coin featured a portrait of the monarch wearing a crown. Even more of a shock, including (allegedly) to Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
herself, was the omission of D G – Dei Gratia ("by the grace of God") – from the coin's inscription, which resulted in it being popularly known as the godless florin. The inscription around the obverse read VICTORIA REGINA 1849. The reverse featured four crowned cruciform shields with a rose in the centre, with the shields separated by a rose, thistle, rose, and a shamrock; the inscription on the reverse was ONE FLORIN ONE TENTH OF A POUND. The "godless florin" may have also been minted in 1850 and 1851 with the 1849 date.
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
, resulting in it being known as the Gothic florin. The date was rendered in Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) victoria d g britt reg f d mdcccli ( F D – Fidei Defensor, defender of faith), while the reverse read one florin one tenth of a pound. The Gothic Florin was produced each year until 1887 (mdccclxxxvii).
In 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, a new older "Jubilee Head" of the queen was used and the various flora were removed from the reverse and replaced by sceptres between the shields and a Garter Star in the centre. The diameter was reduced to 29.5 millimetres. All the inscriptions were in Latin letters and Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, while the reverse read FID DEF BRITT REG date, with no indication of the value. The Jubilee Head issue was released each year between 1887 and 1892.
In 1893, a new "Old Head" showing the veiled head of the queen was introduced, inscribed VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP, together with a completely new reverse showing three shields separated by a rose, shamrock, and thistle surmounted by the Garter crown and inscribed ONE FLORIN TWO SHILLINGS. The diameter was reduced again, to 28.5 millimetres. This issue was released each year between 1893 and 1901.
Edward VII (1901–1910)
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
was minted each year from 1902–1910. It remained at 11.3 grams weight and 28.5 millimetres diameter. The obverse shows the right-facing head of the king, inscribed EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FD IND IMP, while the reverse features a unique design showing Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
standing holding a shield with her left hand and a trident with her right, and inscribed ONE FLORIN TWO SHILLINGS date.
George V (1910–1936)
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(1910–1936) except 1910 and 1934. Whilst the weight and diameter of the coin were unchanged, the metal composition was changed in 1920 from 0.925 silver
Sterling silver
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....
to 50% silver, 40% copper, 10% nickel, then again in 1922 to 50% silver, 50% copper, and again in 1927 to 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% nickel, 5% zinc. The design of the reverse was similar to Queen Victoria's Jubilee florin. Until 1926 the inscriptions on the obverse were GEORGIVS V D G BRITT OMN REX F D IND IMP and on the reverse were ONE FLORIN date, while from 1927 the obverse inscriptions were GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX and the reverse ones were FID DEF IND IMP date ONE FLORIN.
Edward VIII (1936)
After the end of George V's reign, the word "florin" no longer appears on British coins. Throughout 1936, coins of all denominations continued to be struck using the designs of George V, pending preparation of the new monarch's coinage. A pattern florin exists for King Edward VIIIEdward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, which would have been due to receive approval around the time that the king abdicated in Dec. 1936 – the obverse shows the left-facing effigy of the king inscribed EDWARDVS VIII D G BR OMN REX, while the reverse shows a crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock, with E below the thistle and R below the shamrock, and the inscription FID DEF IND IMP TWO SHILLINGS 1937.
George VI (1936–1952)
King George VIGeorge VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
's florins, produced each year between 1937 and 1951, look very like the one planned for his brother Edward VIII. The obverse shows the left-facing effigy of the king inscribed GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX, while the reverse shows a crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock, with G below the thistle and R below the shamrock, and the inscription FID DEF IND IMP TWO SHILLINGS date until 1948, and without the IND IMP from 1949, in acknowledgement of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's independence. The metal content was changed, as for all British silver coins, from 1947 to 75% copper, 25% nickel. This removal of all the silver meant that most of the earlier coins which contained silver were removed from circulation fairly quickly (see Gresham's law
Gresham's Law
Gresham's law is an economic principle that states: "When a government compulsorily overvalues one type of money and undervalues another, the undervalued money will leave the country or disappear from circulation into hoards, while the overvalued money will flood into circulation." It is commonly...
).
Elizabeth II (1952–1967)
Florins were produced for Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
each year between 1953 and 1967, with proof coins again produced in 1970. The obverse shows the Mary Gillick
Mary Gillick
Mary Gillick was a sculptor best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1967....
head of Queen Elizabeth, inscribed ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA BRITT OMN REGINA (1953 only) or ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA (all other years), while the reverse shows a tudor rose
Tudor rose
The Tudor Rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.-Origins:...
in the centre surrounded by thistles, shamrocks, and leeks, with the inscription FID DEF TWO SHILLINGS date. In accordance with the plan for decimalisation
Decimalisation
Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency that is based on one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, most commonly 100....
of the currency (120 years after this denomination was first introduced in the first plan to introduce a decimal currency), from 1968 the decimal ten pence coin was introduced of the same size, weight, and metal composition as the florin. Florins (usually dated 1947 or later) remained in circulation until the size of the decimal ten pence was reduced in 1992, and they were finally demonetised on 1 July 1993.
Names in other languages
The Chinese translation for "florin" is "盾" (literally: shield) referring to the element in its original 1849 design. Similarly, the Dutch florin and consequently the guilder were also translated as 盾. As a result, currency in the guilder-based ArubaAruban florin
The florin is the currency of Aruba. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The florin was introduced in 1986, replacing the Netherlands Antillean guilder at par.-History:...
and Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antillean gulden
The guilder is presently the currency of two of the five islands which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles. It is subdivided into 100 cents . The guilder was replaced by the US dollar on 1 January 2011 on the other former islands of the Netherlands Antilles: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius...
are referred as 盾.
External links
- British Coins - Free information about British coins. Includes an online forum.
- Florins - History and values of UK florins.
- Pictures of Florins - Tony Clayton's pictures of UK two shilling coins