Florin (English coin)

The English florin, sometimes known as the double leopard, was an attempt in 1344 by Edward III to produce gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England.

It was authorised on 27 January 1344, and struck from 108 grains (6.99829 grams) of nominal pure ('fine') gold and had a value of six shillings (equivalent to 30 modern pence).

The newly-introduced English florin at twice this nominal weight was ultimately found to be wrongly tariffed, resulting in it being unacceptable to merchants.

The reverse shows the royal cross within a quatrefoil, a leopard in each spandrel; the legend is IHC TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went his way", from Luke 4:30).

[5] The coin was subsequently loaned to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge,[6] before changing hands in 2016 for an undisclosed seven-figure sum to a private collector in the United States.