Florentine Florin

The Florentine florin was the gold coin of the Republic of Florence, first struck in 1252. Made of almost pure gold and weighing roughly 3.5 grams, it kept a steady standard for well over two centuries and became one of the most trusted coins of medieval Europe, used by merchants and bankers far beyond Tuscany.

The florin helped bring regular gold coinage back to western Europe, where silver had dominated for some five hundred years. It was widely copied, gave its name to several later coins and currencies, and served as a common reference point for prices, loans and exchange across the Italian banking world.

By the mid-thirteenth century Florence was a fast-growing centre of cloth production, trade and moneylending. Large payments were awkward to make in the small silver pennies then in use, and Italian merchants were already familiar with gold coins from Byzantium and the Islamic world, such as the bezant. In 1252 Florence began striking its own gold coin; Genoa introduced a gold coin of its own, the genovino, in the same year.

The name comes from the Italian fiorino, linked to the lily (fiore, flower) that served as the city's emblem. The obverse showed the Florentine lily and the reverse showed Saint John the Baptist, the city's patron saint. The design changed very little during the republican period, which made the coin easy to recognise.

The florin was struck in gold of about 24 carats, close to the purest that medieval refining could reach, at a weight of about 3.5 grams. The Florentine mint was run under the oversight of the city's guilds, and officials signed each issue with a small mark identifying the mint master responsible. This system of accountability helped the coin keep its reputation.

Florence also issued silver coins for everyday use, and the value of the florin in terms of local silver money rose and fell with the market. As silver coins were weakened over time through debasement, the florin became more valuable in silver terms. Florentines therefore kept accounts in more than one money, including a "florin" unit of account that could drift away from the actual gold coin.

Florentine merchant-banking companies, such as the Bardi and Peruzzi in the fourteenth century and the Medici in the fifteenth, operated branches across Italy, France, England and the Low Countries. Much of their business was done not by shipping coin but by the bill of exchange, a written order to pay a sum in another city and currency. The florin was a natural reference for these contracts because its value was widely known and stable.

The florin was accepted across much of Europe and the Mediterranean, especially for large payments such as papal revenues, dowries and the purchase of wool and cloth. Its main rival was the Venetian ducat, introduced in 1284 at a nearly identical weight and fineness, which gradually became the more widely used trade coin in the eastern Mediterranean. The relationship between gold and silver in this period is sometimes described as a form of bimetallism, although there was no formal fixed ratio.

Many rulers struck coins modelled on the florin, often copying the lily and the figure of Saint John. In the German lands these gold coins became known as the gulden, and the Hungarian kingdom began a gold coinage of the florin type in the fourteenth century. In England, Edward III issued a short-lived gold florin in 1344. Over time many imitations were struck in less pure gold, and the name "florin" drifted away from its original standard.

Florentine gold coinage continued into the sixteenth century, after which Tuscany's grand dukes issued different gold coins. The name survived elsewhere. It is the origin of the Hungarian forint, of the Dutch abbreviation "fl." and symbol "ƒ" used for the Dutch guilder, and of the Aruban florin. Britain also used "florin" from 1849 for a two-shilling silver coin within the pound sterling. The broad European silver coins that followed, such as the thaler, were first designed as silver equivalents of the gold gulden.

• British Museum – Collection online
• American Numismatic Society