Talk:Florin (British coin)

Article move
I've moved this article from two shilling coin. My reasons for my action are that it's the more common term so WP:NAME, the title was changed in 2006 to assure a conformity of title which has been lost as most coins are now in the half crown (British coin) format, and it also conforms with international florin articles like Florin (Australian coin).--Wehwalt (talk) 16:25, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

Change from silver
I believe there may be a mistake in the reason for the switch from silver to cheaper alloy, or if not an actual mistake, the reason may be overstated.

Lend-Lease was predominantly free aid and I have found no references to the loan of silver under this program.

I believe the most significant reason was the repayment of other loans from the US during WW2 (not part of Lend-Lease) and immediately post WW2 e.g. Anglo-American loan.

Furthermore, the UK was still repaying loans for the costs of WW1 from the US into the 1930s. Due to the 1930s depression, there was a moratorium on these repayments, but post WW2, the repayments were due again.

In fact WW1 debts to the US were not finally paid off until 2015. For more information, see History of the British national debt. Lkingscott (talk) 07:32, 7 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Coinage Act of 1965 also makes reference to lend-lease silver being returned to the US. So I'm reluctant to conclude an error.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:03, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

One tenth of a pound?
Apologies if I’ve missed a discussion or something, but how does it come to say in the lead that it was valued at a tenth of a pound? As a survivor of that era I feel strongly that its value was two shillings. People would have thought you insane to describe it otherwise. Indeed I’d still not say it even now. It seems odd. Please tell me you’ve discussed this?? Thanks! DBaK (talk) 07:03, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

Maybe I should clarify: it’s the exact phrasing “valued at” that’s troubling me the most. I just don’t think we did … DBaK (talk) 07:08, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
 * It says two shillings in the first sentence. The one tenth of a pound is stated on the original florins, and is to translate for those who never used the pre-decimal system. What about "With a value equating to one-tenth of a pound" or some such?--Wehwalt (talk) 11:48, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes! I hate to sound fussy, but that would nail it for me. I'm not even sure I can properly explain why, but that does it and seems to me to work much much better. Thanks ! DBaK (talk) 12:06, 8 October 2020 (UTC)