Australian Silver Florins

Issued From:1910 - 1963

Dates Not Issued:

1920, 1929, 1930, 1937,

1948, 1949, 1950, 1955.
The series commenced in 1910 with a single year of issue bearing the effigy of Edward VII.
The early coins of the series were all minted in London but some of the 1914 & 1915 issues were sub-contracted to Heaton & Sons of Birmingham. The Birmingham coins can be identified by the mintmark H under the date on the reverse. In 1916 the Melbourne mint assumed the manufacture of most florins.
The 1932 florin is the scarcest in the series, closely followed by 1914 H and 1915. The latter two are very rare in higher grades. Other scarce dates in higher grades are 1910, 1914, 1926 1927 and 1939.
The relatively large size and weight of the florin, combined with prominent unprotected fields in the design, make the coin susceptible to bag marks, nicks and scratches in the manufacturing process before the coins even reached circulation.
The florin is the most widely collected of the pre-decimal coin denominations.
Four commemorative Florins were issued during the 53 years in which Australian Florins were minted. They were the 1927 Parliament House Opening, the 1934-35 Melbourne Centenary, the 1951 50th Anniversary of Federation and the 1954 Royal Visit

Edward VII

1910
The series commenced in 1910 with a single year of issue bearing the effigy of Edward VII the florins, sixpence and threepence arriving 1st October 1910, nearly five months after King Edward VII died.
Year Mint Mintage
1910 London 1,259,000

George V

1911 - 1936
King Edward VII died on 6th May 1910 and George V assumed the British throne. Australian Florins bearing George V's effigy were minted in London, Melbourne and Sydney during the years 1911 to 1936 with the legend:
GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT : OMN : REX F.D. IND : IMP
Year Mint Mintmark Mintage
1911 London Scarce 1,000,000
1912 London Scarce 1,000,000
1913 London 1,200,000
1914 London 2,300,000
1914H Birmingham H Rare 500,000
1915 London Rare 500,000
1915H Birmingham H 750,000
1916M Melbourne M 2,752,000
1917M Melbourne M 5,274,000
1918M Melbourne M 2,094,000
1919M Melbourne M 1,677,000
1921 Melbourne 1,247,000
1922 Melbourne 2,037,000
1924 Melb / Sydney 1,583,000
1925 Melb / Sydney 2,960,000
1926 Melb / Sydney 2,487,000
1927 Melbourne 1,420,000
1928 Melbourne 1,962,000
1931 Melbourne 3,129,000
1932 Melbourne Rare 188,000
1933 Melbourne Scarce 488,000
1934 Melbourne 1,674,000
1935 Melbourne 915,000
1936 Melbourne 5,054,000

George VI

1938 - 1952
During World War II, the quality of striking for most coins deteriorated. There were a number of reasons for this. Less care was taken in the preparation of the dies, the dies were used in longer production runs before being replaced, and quality controls were relaxed as more pressing matters of war took precedence.
George VI oversaw many changes to our coinage during his reign,the Arms of Australia which had adorned the reverse of all the silver issues since 1910 had been obsolete since 1912 and was being replaced. Starting in 1938, Florins were minted with a new reverse design featuring the Australian Coat of Arms with a more stylistic kangaroo and emu, in 1946 the silver content on all Australian coins was reduced from 92.5% to 50% to help in paying back the massive war debt and India became an independent nation in 1947, prompting a change to the legend on the obverse from 1951 onwards.
For the years 1938 to 1948, the obverse legend was:
GEORGIVS VI : D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP
Year Mint Mintmark Mintage
1938 Melbourne 2,990,000
1939 Melbourne Scarce 600,000
1940 Melbourne Scarce 8,410,000
1941 Melbourne 7,694,000
1942 Melbourne 18,070,000
1942S San Francisco S 6,000,000
1943 Melbourne 12,562,000
1943S San Francisco S 11,000,000
1944 Melbourne 22,440,000
1944S San Francisco S 11,000,000
1945 Melbourne Scarce 14,874,000
1946 Melbourne First 50% Silver 23,222,000
1947 Melbourne 37,482,000


From 1950 onwards IND IMP was eliminated from the legend, (necessary because India became an independent nation in 1947) and F.D. was expanded to:
GEORGIVS VI : D : G : BR : OMN : REX FIDEI DEF
1951 Melbourne 10,068,000
1952 Melbourne 10,044,000

Elizabeth II

1953 - 1963
With George VI's death, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen in 1953. The obverse design for subsequent shillings was by Mary Gillick and depicted Elizabeth II facing to the right. The reverse design introduced in 1938 continued in use until the cessation of minting in 1963. For the years 1953 and 1954, the obverse legend was:
ELIZABETH . II. DEI. GRATIA. REGINA +
Year Mint Mintage
1953 Melbourne 13,466,000
1954 Melbourne 14,558,000


The deletion of the religious title F:D: ( Defender of the Faith) caused such controversy that for the years 1955 to 1963, the obverse legend was:
ELIZABETH . II. DEI. GRATIA. REGINA. F: D: +
1956 Melbourne 8,090,000
1957 Melbourne 9,692,000
1958 Melbourne 8,558,000
1959 Melbourne 3,500,000
1960 Melbourne 15,760,000
1961 Melbourne 9,452,000
1962 Melbourne 13,748,000
1963 Melbourne 10,022,000

Commemorative Issues

Four commemorative Florins were issued during the 53 years in which Australian Florins were minted.
Parliament House Melbourne Centenary 50yrs Federation Royal Visit

Other Items
Melbourne Proofs Perth Proofs 1937 Crown 1954 - 2004 Florin

2001 - 1951 Federation PNC 2004 - 1964 Penny Proof QEII Last Issue Set Commemorative & Regular Issue Set


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