British Godless Florin, 1849

The British Godless florin of 1849 was a two-shilling silver coin struck by the Royal Mint. To evaluate public reaction and assist the decimal experiment, the mint suspended production of the similar half-crown coin, intending the two-shilling florin to serve as a practical test for potential decimal coins.

The coin acquired its popular name due to public controversy surrounding its obverse legend, which read simply VICTORIA REGINA 1849. It omitted the customary DEI GRATIA (or D G, meaning "By the Grace of God") as well as F D for Defender of the Faith. Although this legend had been suggested by Prince Albert, the omissions provoked widespread criticism and suspicion regarding the Master of the Mint, Richard Lalor Sheil. Sheil later described the inscription as an error in the House of Commons, and the piece was subsequently replaced from 1851 by the redesigned Gothic florin.

Struck in silver, the 1849 florin had a diameter of 28 millimetres and weighed 11.3 grams (defined as four-elevenths of a troy ounce). Designed by William Wyon, the obverse depicted Queen Victoria as a young woman wearing a crown, marking the first appearance of a crowned monarch on a British coin in nearly two centuries. The reverse, designed by William Dyce, featured cruciform crowned shields representing England, Scotland, and Ireland, with floral emblems in the angles and the inscription ONE FLORIN ONE TENTH OF A POUND. Both faces were rendered in Roman lettering.