St. James's Auctions
Auction 86 28 Feb 2024
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Victoria, silver pattern florin, 1848, crowned bust left, rev. crowned cruciform shields and ONE FLORIN, plain edge (ESC.2917, old ESC.799), certified and graded by NGC as Proof-66 Cameo, light golden bluish grey toning, a splendidly preserved example of this fairly rare pattern
Only one other graded as Proof-66 Cameo by NGC, none higher.
A centuries-old standard, the halfcrown valued at two shillings and sixpence, ceased being produced for about 25 years after 1850 because a new denomination was introduced in 1849, the florin-worth exactly two shillings. At the time, it was viewed by the Royal Mint as a handy denomination that could have wide use. The coin was a tentative move toward decimalisation and in 1848 the concept had many proponents. The concept died out but the florin lived on for many years as being handy indeed. The man behind the idea of decimalisation, which was spreading across Europe, was Sir John Bowring, who made his proposal to the House of Commons in the spring of 1847. Despite having many eager supporters, the proposal was rejected and Bowring accepted defeat when the government agreed to create one such 'decimal' coin, the florin. Everyone saw that it was a denomination equal to exactly one-tenth of a pound sterling. The mint's William Wyon designed a series of three styles for the new coin-two variants of the familiar Young Head portrait of the queen and a crowned image already in use, on the Gothic crown. Reverse designs were also inventive, and very beautiful, but ease of minting consistently struck coins caused the mint to decide on the cruciform shield for the coin's reverse-essentially making it a mini-Gothic crown. ONE FLORIN in small capital Gothic letters appeared on the reverse, leaving no doubt about its face value. All the other styles, including fanciful nicknames for the denomination such as ONE DECADE/DIME or ONE CENTUM or 100 MILLES, remain for collectors as memories of what might have been if decimalisation had become reality.
Estimate: 12500 - 15000 GBP
Only one other graded as Proof-66 Cameo by NGC, none higher.
A centuries-old standard, the halfcrown valued at two shillings and sixpence, ceased being produced for about 25 years after 1850 because a new denomination was introduced in 1849, the florin-worth exactly two shillings. At the time, it was viewed by the Royal Mint as a handy denomination that could have wide use. The coin was a tentative move toward decimalisation and in 1848 the concept had many proponents. The concept died out but the florin lived on for many years as being handy indeed. The man behind the idea of decimalisation, which was spreading across Europe, was Sir John Bowring, who made his proposal to the House of Commons in the spring of 1847. Despite having many eager supporters, the proposal was rejected and Bowring accepted defeat when the government agreed to create one such 'decimal' coin, the florin. Everyone saw that it was a denomination equal to exactly one-tenth of a pound sterling. The mint's William Wyon designed a series of three styles for the new coin-two variants of the familiar Young Head portrait of the queen and a crowned image already in use, on the Gothic crown. Reverse designs were also inventive, and very beautiful, but ease of minting consistently struck coins caused the mint to decide on the cruciform shield for the coin's reverse-essentially making it a mini-Gothic crown. ONE FLORIN in small capital Gothic letters appeared on the reverse, leaving no doubt about its face value. All the other styles, including fanciful nicknames for the denomination such as ONE DECADE/DIME or ONE CENTUM or 100 MILLES, remain for collectors as memories of what might have been if decimalisation had become reality.
Estimate: 12500 - 15000 GBP