The Half Florin was an attempt by English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 king Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 to produce a gold coin

Gold coin

A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...

age suitable for use in Europe as well as in England (see also Florin or Double Leopard

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...

 and Quarter Florin or Helm

Quarter Florin

The Quarter Florin or Helm was an attempt by English King Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England . The quarter florin, based on contemporary European gold coins had a value of one shilling and sixpence...

). The half florin was largely based on contemporary European gold coins, with a value of three shillings. Unfortunately, the gold used to strike the coins was overvalued, resulting in the coins being unacceptable to the public, and the coins were withdrawn after only a few months in circulation in August of 1344 to be melted down to produce the more popular Noble

Noble (English coin)

The Noble was the first English gold coin produced in quantity, having been preceded by the Gold penny and the Florin earlier in the reigns of King Henry III and King Edward III, which saw little circulation....

. Few specimens have survived of what is often regarded as one of the most beautiful medieval English coins ever produced.

The obverse of the coin shows a leopard with a cloak of the royal arms; the legend is EDWAR D GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HIB (Edward by the Grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland).
The reverse of the coin shows the Royal cross within a quatrefoil

Quatrefoil

The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...

, a leopard in each quarter; the legend is DOMINE NE IN FURORE TUO ARGUAS ME (O Lord rebuke me not in Thy anger).