Florin (Irish coin) Florin (Irish coin) The florin (2s) () coin was a subdivision of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth of a pound. It was more commonly known as the two-shilling coin. The original minting of the coin from 1928 until 1943 contained 75% silver, a higher content than the equivalent British coin. It is believed that this was done so that the new currency would not be seen as a poor substitute to the British currency which circulated alongside. The silver coins are quite noticeable as they have a more "whitish" look than the later cupronickel variety that were minted from 1951,
Decimal Day remain valid back to 1971, the only circulating coins valid on Decimal Day still to be valid. In 1982, the word "new" in "new penny" or "new pence" was removed from the inscriptions on coins, to be replaced by the number of pence in the denomination (i.e. "ten pence" or "fifty pence"). This coincided with the introduction of a new 20p coin, which, from the outset, simply bore the legend "twenty pence". A £1 coin was introduced in 1983, and a £2 coin in 1997. When the old pounds, shillings, and pence system was in operation, the United Kingdom and