Florin (British coin) angles. The new florin closely resembles the Gothic crown of 1847; the obverse for both was designed by the Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint, William Wyon, while the reverse of both was designed by William Dyce. Unlike the crown's Gothic script, the 1849 florin has Roman lettering. The 1849 florin, issued in silver, weighed 11.3 grams and had a diameter of 28 millimetres. The new coin made clear its value with the inscription on the reverse. To aid in the decimal experiment, the half crown (two shillings and sixpence, or one-eighth of a pound), near to the florin in
Crown (British coin) Crown (British coin) The British crown, the successor to the English crown and the Scottish dollar, came into being with the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707. As with the English coin, its value was five shillings. Always a heavy silver coin weighing around one ounce, during the 19th and 20th centuries the crown declined from being a real means of exchange to being a coin rarely spent and minted for commemorative purposes only. In that format it has continued to be minted, even following decimalisation of the British currency in 1971. However, as the result