The florin was the currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 of Tuscany

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

 between 1826 and 1859. It was subdivided into 100 quattrini (singular

Grammatical number

In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....

: quattrino), a local currency made by four pennies

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

 (from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

: quater denarii). There was an additional denomination called the paolo, worth 40 quattrini, in circulation.

History

During the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, Tuscany was annexed by France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the French franc

French franc

The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...

 was introduced, together with its satellite Italian lira

Italian lira

The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...

. Previous Tuscan pound did not disappear, but a big confusion was created between the old pound (called lira in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

) and the new lira. So, when Duke

Duke

A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

 Leopold II rose to power in 1824, he decided to introduce a new basic currency. The florin replaced the Tuscan pound at a rate of 1⅔ pounds = 1 florin. In 1847, Tuscany absorbed Lucca

Duchy of Lucca

The Duchy of Lucca was an Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of Lucca.The Duchy was formed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, out of the former Republic of Lucca and the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, which had been ruled by Elisa Bonaparte...

 and the florin replaced the Luccan pound at a rate of 1 florin = 2 pounds. After a brief revolutionary coinage, the florin was replaced in 1859 by a provisional currency denominated in "Italian lira

Italian lira

The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...

", equal to the Sardinian lira

Sardinian lira

The lira was the currency of the Kingdom of Sardinia between August 6, 1816 and March 17, 1861. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi and was equal in value to the French franc , which had replaced the Piedmontese shield by 1801...

, with 1 florin = 1.4 Italian lire.

Coins

Copper coins were struck in denominations of 1 and 3 quattrini, together with billon 5 and 10 quattrini, silver ½, 1 and 5 paolo, ¼, ½, 1 and 4 florins. Gold coins included the sequin

Sequin (coin)

The sequin is a gold coin weighing of .986 gold, minted by the Republic of Venice from the 13th century onwards.The design of the Venetian gold ducat, or zecchino, remained unchanged for over 500 years, from its introduction in 1284 to the takeover of Venice by Napoleon in 1797...

 (Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

: zecchino), ruspone and 80 florins, the latter two equalled 3 and 10 sequins respectively.