Two shilling coin
| United Kingdom | |
| Value | 1⁄10 pound sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | 11.31 g |
| Diameter | (1849) 28.0 mm (1851–1886) 30.0 mm (1887–1892) 29.5 mm (1893–1970) 28.5 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | (1849–1919) 92.5% Ag (1920–1946) 50% Ag (1947–1970) Cupronickel |
| Years of minting | 1849–1970 |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Profile of the monarch (Elizabeth II design shown) |
| Designer | Mary Gillick |
| Design date | 1953 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Various (floral design shown) |
| Designer | Edgar Fuller and Cecil Thomas |
| Design date | 1953 |
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 just prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993, having for a quarter 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 that 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 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.
The drive for decimalisation of the currency in Britain dates as far back as 1682. Although nothing was done regarding early proposals, the adoption of a decimal currency in the United States, France and other nations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries renewed the call, and commissions in 1841 and 1843 called for its adoption. In 1847, a motion was introduced in Parliament by Sir John Bowring calling for the introduction of a decimal currency and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound. Bowring obtained surprisingly strong support for his motion, and the Russell government promised that a coin valued at one-tenth of a pound (two shillings) would be produced to test public opinion, with consideration in future to be given to the introduction of other decimal coins.
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