the 1849 godless florin the first florins struck in 1849. in gothic style, , featured portrait of queen victoria young woman, crowned cruciform shields of united kingdom shown on reverse, , nations emblems in angles. new florin closely resembles gothic crown of 1847; obverse both designed chief engraver of royal mint, william wyon, while reverse of both designed william dyce. unlike crown s gothic script, 1849 florin has roman lettering. 1849 florin, issued in silver, weighed 11.3 grams , had diameter of 28 millimetres. new coin made clear value inscription 1 florin 1 tenth of pound on reverse. aid in decimal experiment, half crown (two shillings , sixpence, or one-eighth of pound), near florin in size , value, not issued between 1850 , 1874, when struck again @ request of banks, , surveys found both coins played useful parts in commerce. each continue struck, , circulate together, until decimalisation. these first coins shock public, first time in 200 years british coin featured por...