Episode 1252
Florin (British coin)
Thu, 2020-Oct-08 00:55 UTC
Length - 2:35
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Thursday, 8 October 2020 is Florin (British coin).
The British florin, or two-shilling coin, was issued from 1849 until 1967, with a final issue for collectors dated 1970. Valued at one-tenth of a pound (24 old pence), it was the last coin circulating immediately prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993, having for a quarter of a century circulated alongside the ten-pence piece, identical in specifications and value.
The florin was introduced as part of an experiment in decimalisation that went no further at the time. The original florins, dated 1849, attracted controversy for omitting a reference to God from Queen Victoria's titles; that type is accordingly known as the "Godless florin", and was in 1851 succeeded by the "Gothic florin", for its design and style of lettering. Throughout most of its existence, the florin bore some variation of either the shields of the United Kingdom, or the emblems of its constituent nations on the reverse, a tradition broken between 1902 and 1910, when the coin featured a windswept figure of a standing Britannia.
In 1911, following the accession of George V, the florin regained the shields and sceptres design it had in the late Victorian Era, and it kept that motif until 1937, when the national emblems were placed on it. The florin retained such a theme for the remainder of its run, though a new design was used from 1953, following the accession of Elizabeth II. In 1968, prior to decimalisation, the Royal Mint began striking the ten-pence piece. The old two-shilling piece remained in circulation until the ten-pence piece was made smaller, and earlier coins, including the florin, were demonetised.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:55 UTC on Thursday, 8 October 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Florin (British coin) on Wikipedia.
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This has been Kevin Neural. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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