Fiorino Público Deposited
The silver Florin, or fiorino d'argento, of Florence was introduced about the same time as the gold coin of the same name, its value being one tenth of the latter. It bore the rhyming Latin verse: Det tibi fiorere Christus, Florentia, vere.
The Florins of Germany and Austria are multiples of 100 Kreuzer, and those of the Netherlands of 28 Stuivers. All these coins are of the same value as the silver Gulden (q.v.).
Silver Florins, or two shilling pieces, were issued in England in 1849 with the view to establishing a decimal system in the coinage. The piece was greatly objected to, on account of the omission of the letters D. G., or Dei Gratia, in the legend, and it received the name of the Godless, or graceless, Florin. Three quarters of a million were struck, all dated 1849. The next issue, in which the omission was remedied, appeared in 1851, and is a broader and thinner coin. The Florin of Edward VII, issued in 1902, shows the figure of Britannia standing on the prow of a vessel, her right hand holding a trident and her left resting on a shield.
The English Florin circulated extensively in Cyprus, but was replaced by a silver coin of 18 Piastres in 1901.
In 1910 and after, a silver coin inscribed ONE FLORIN-TWO SHILLINGS was coined for Australia.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)