Florin - Edward III 3rd coinage, 1st period

The florin of 1344 — England's first attempt at a gold coinage — failed almost immediately. Valued at six shillings, it was rejected by merchants because the exchange rate against foreign gold coins made it commercially unworkable. The entire issue was called in and melted within months of release, which is why surviving examples are genuinely exceptional rarities rather than merely scarce ones. Fewer than a handful are known to exist today.

The failure prompted Edward III to recalibrate, and the noble — introduced later that same year at a more pragmatic valuation — succeeded where the florin could not.