The original Florentine florin, first struck in 1252, became the dominant trade coin of medieval Europe for over two centuries — copied, debased, and counterfeited by dozens of states that lacked Florence's commercial credibility. Gori's 1970 reproduction belongs to a wave of Italian silver replicas produced for the collector and tourist markets during that decade, when interest in medieval monetary history ran high following several major academic publications on the subject.
The original Florentine florin, first struck in 1252, became the dominant trade coin of medieval Europe for over two centuries — copied, debased, and counterfeited by dozens of states that lacked Florence's commercial credibility. Gori's 1970 reproduction belongs to a wave of Italian silver replicas produced for the collector and tourist markets during that decade, when interest in medieval monetary history ran high following several major academic publications on the subject.