A Victorian post 1851 counterfeit florin

The florin was issued from 1849 until 1967. The original florins attracted controversy for omitting a reference to God in Queen Victoria's titles; that type is accordingly known as the "Godless florin" and was succeeded in 1851 by the "Gothic florin" because of the latter’s design and style of lettering. The coin being sold here is a Gothic florin. These coins featured a portrait of Queen Victoria as a very young woman, with the crowned cruciform shields of the United Kingdom shown on the reverse, and the nations' emblems in the angles.

The coin being sold here is a forgery. True florins were made from 925 /1000 parts of silver (the balance consisting of copper) and weighed 11.3 grams having a diameter of 30 millimetres. The coin being sold here weighs 8 grams and has a diameter of 29 mm. it will be made from either a low grade silver or more likely from a zinc alloy. The latter had the advantage of having a lower melting point which meant that coins could more easily be produced.

In the mid-1860s workers in London received 3 shillings and 9 pence for a 10-hour day and a six-day week. This is equivalent to 19p in today's money. A 1860 florin is equivalent to 24p in today’s money, which means that 1 forged florin would bring in more than a week’s wages in 1860 – hence the incentive to produce forged coins even if the penalty if caught was death. 

Postage is just to within the UK mainland. Delivery will be via UPS. The coin will be sent in an over-sized box to reduce the possibility of it going astray on its journey.

Please see my other items which are predominantly 18th and 19th century in date