The Australian florin was a coin used in the Commonwealth of Australia prior to decimalisation

Decimalisation

Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency that is based on one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, most commonly 100....

 in 1966. The denomination was first minted in 1910, to the same size and weight as the United Kingdom florin

British Two Shilling coin

The British two shilling coin, also known as the florin or "two bob bit" was issued from 1849 until 1967. It was worth one tenth of a pound, or twenty-four old pence...

. Florins minted from 1910 to 1945 were produced with a .925 sterling silver

Sterling silver

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....

 content, weighing 11.31g (.3636 troy ounce) with an actual silver weight (ASW) of .3363 troy ounce. Florins minted between 1946 and 1963 were produced with a .500 silver content, weighing 11.31g with an ASW of .1818 troy ounce.

The florin was worth 24 pence

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

 or two shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s or a tenth of a pound

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

. The coin was minted until 1963, with some years of omission. When Australia decimalised on 14 February 1966 the florin was equal to 20¢.

During World War II, between 1942-1944, florin production was supplemented by coinage produced at the San Francisco branch

San Francisco Mint

The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...

 of the United States Mint

United States Mint

The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...

. These coins bear a small "S" mint mark

Mint mark

A mint mark is an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced.-History:Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a coin was underweight, or overweight, the mint mark would immediately tell where the coin was minted, and the problem could be located and fixed...

 below the Australian coat of arms

Coat of arms of Australia

The coat of arms of Australia is the official symbol of Australia. The initial coat of arms was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version was granted by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on...

.

The image on the reverse

Obverse and reverse

Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

 of the coin was the Coat of Arms of Australia

Coat of arms of Australia

The coat of arms of Australia is the official symbol of Australia. The initial coat of arms was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version was granted by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on...

 (except for commemorative coins). This comes in two forms, all with the kangaroo

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...

, emu

Emu

The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...

 and the shield containing the coat of arms. Those issued between 1910 and 1936 have a star above the Coat of Arms, and the Southern Cross within the shield. Those issued between 1938 and 1963 have the royal crown above, the six states represented in the shield and wattle

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

 plant as a background.

Circulation types

Image		Years		Technical parameters				Description / Legend / Designer
Obverse	Reverse	From	To	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		1910	1910	28.5 mm	2.5 mm	11.31 g	925‰ silver Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...	Reeded	Edward VII  EDWARDVS VII D:G: BRITT. OMN: REX F: D: Fidei defensor Fidei defensor is a Latin title which translates to Defender of the Faith in English and Défenseur de la Foi in French...  IND: IMP: Emperor of India Emperor/Empress of India was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India....   by George William de Saulles George William de Saulles George William de Saulles was a British medallist. He authored and designed the obverse of coins from the United Kingdom and its colonies under Edward VII....	1908 coat of arms of Australia Coat of arms of Australia The coat of arms of Australia is the official symbol of Australia. The initial coat of arms was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version was granted by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on...  (with ADVANCE AUSTRALIA Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...  on ribbon) ONE FLORIN - TWO SHILLINGS by W.H.J. Blakemore
		1911	1936						George V George V of the United Kingdom George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....   GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT: OMN: REX F.D.IND:IMP: by Bertram Mackennal
		1938	1945						George VI  GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX: F:D:IND:IMP. by Thomas Hugh Paget	Coat of arms of Australia Coat of arms of Australia The coat of arms of Australia is the official symbol of Australia. The initial coat of arms was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version was granted by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on... * FLORIN * AUSTRALIA by George Kruger Gray George Kruger Gray George Edward Kruger Gray was an English artist, best remembered for his designs of coinage and stained glass windows.-Coinage:...
		1946	1947				500‰ silver Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
		1951	1952						George VI  GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX FIDEI DEF. by Thomas Hugh Paget
		1953	1954						Elizabeth II  + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA Dei Gratia Regina Dei Gratia Regina is Latin for By the Grace of God, Queen. This phrase appears on the obverse of all Canadian coins to the right of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II....   by Mary Gillick Mary Gillick Mary Gillick was a sculptor best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1967....
		1956	1963						Elizabeth II  + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F:D: by Mary Gillick Mary Gillick Mary Gillick was a sculptor best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1967....

Links

• Australian Florin Values
• Australian Florins
• The Australian Florin