Great Britain: Victoria silver Proof Pattern "Royal Cypher" Florin (2 Shillings) 1848 PR64 NGC,...
Description
Victoria silver Proof Pattern "Royal Cypher" Florin (2 Shillings) 1848 PR64 NGC, Royal Mint, ESC-2925 (old ESC-893). Plain Edge. Obverse B; Reverse B-i. The Laurel Bust type mated to the reverse featuring a splendid Royal Cypher "VR" embellished with an interlinked rose, thistle, shamrock and Welsh plume. A splendid trial piece, displaying beautiful designs that ultimately were not adopted, but it does feature the denomination and denomination equivalency (decimal standard) that were chosen for the production issue. This near-Gem Proof piece exhibits a beautiful blue steel patina and a heavily frosted example of this lovely Victoria bust variation. A variety of this Victorian Pattern series that our firm has not handled since 2017.The 1840s through to the 1860s was a time of active experimentation in British coinage, with many new designs and innovations introduced; the Florin represented an effort to 'decimalize', to simplify the overly complex system of interlocking denominations within the British numismatic series (an effort which had been suggested as early as 1682). Being worth 2 Shillings, ten Florins equaled one Pound, a step in the right direction, and in 1847 Wyon and Dyce were tasked with designing this new denomination from the ground up. Clearly, from the number of patterns created in 1848, this was not a cut-and-dried task. The pair designed pieces bearing multiple different names including 'Centum', 'Decade', and even 'Dime', but ultimately settled on 'Florin' as the Netherlands had a contemporary Gulden coin known as a Florin of the same size and value.
Metal: Silver
Diameter: 28mm
More information about Great Britain Coins. See also: Great Britain World Coin Nationality.
Estimate: $10,000 - $12,000.
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