Tudor Rose, Thistle, Shamrock and Leek 1 Florin (2 Shillings) Great Britain Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Crafts (Queen Elizabeth)

Tudor Rose, Thistle, Shamrock and Leek 1 Florin (2 Shillings) Great Britain Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making

Reverse: Central Tudor rose surrounded by Scottish thistles, Irish shamrocks and Welsh leeks, legend above, denomination and date below.
Lettering: FID: DEF:
TWO SHILLINGS
Translation: Defender of the Faith (Fidei Defensatrix)

Obverse: Young laureate portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II right, legend around.
Lettering: ELIZABETH·II·DEI·GRATIA·REGINA +
Translation: Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God Queen

Edge: Reeded

[Note: The British florin, or two-shilling coin, was issued from 1849 until 1967, with a final issue for collectors dated 1970. Equivalent in value to one-tenth of a pound (24 old pence), it was the last coin circulating immediately prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993.]

Features
Issuer United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth II (1952-date)
Type Standard circulation coin
Years 1954-1970
Value 2 Shillings = 1 Florin (0.1)
Currency Pound sterling (1158-1970)
Composition Copper-nickel
Weight 11.31 g
Diameter 28.5 mm
Thickness 2.5 mm
Shape Round
Technique Milled
Orientation Medal alignment ↑↑
Demonetized 30 June 1993
Number N# 885
References KM# 906, Sp# 4146

Thistles, Leeks, Roses and Shamrocks ..
Do you know what these are? They are the national plant emblems British Isles. The thistle of Scotland, the leek of Wales, the Rose of England and the Shamrock of Ireland are the national symbols, which may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials.

According to legend the Vikings were successful at the start of their war against the native inhabitants of Scotland and were likely to be overrun. A Viking is one of the Norse (Scandinavian) explorers, warriors, merchants and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century.

These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. This period of Viking expansion is known as the Viking Age, and forms a major part of the medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles and Europe in general.

The adoption of the Scottish Thistle (or Spear Thistle) by a grateful nation, as its national emblem, came about as a large force of Vikings were making one last foray to beat the sleeping Scots, when one barefooted Norseman stepped on a thistle. His cry of pain woke the Scots and they routed the Vikings who never again returned to Scotland.

The legend of the leek depends on the story-teller. Wales is now primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and daffodil. The Welsh words for leeks (cenrin) and daffodils (cennin Pedr = (St) Peter’s Leeks) are, as you can see, closely related and it is likely that one of the symbols came to be used due to a misunderstanding for the other, though which came first is lost in the mists of time.

According to legend St David had lived on bread and leeks when he had been a monk in Wales and he gave this unappetising fare to the Christian Celts before their battle, which may also have taken place in a leek field, against the heathen Saxons. The Welsh Celts won the day and adopted the leek as their emblem. All three emblems are known in the UK as representing Wales; however the Welsh Dragon prevails for patriotic regalia.

As a young boy St Patrick had been taken from his home in England as a slave to Ireland, but after his escape home he became a fervent believer in the new faith, and wanted to convert the Druids (a priestly and learned class) and their king to Christianity so returning to Ireland.

St Patrick was caught lighting a forbidden fire and brought before the King, but was given permission to speak before being sentenced, when Patrick told the King the story of the Trinity. But the ruler needed a sign, at this Patrick bent down and picked up a shamrock with the words ‘Look, three leaves in one leaf’. The King, saved Patrick, and adopted the new faith with the shamrock becoming the basis of the Celtic Cross and the national emblem of Ireland.

The Rose of England made its first royal symbolic appearance in England when Edward I adopted the flower as his badge, and we know that the Crusaders carved rose emblems on the buildings in the Holy Land (industrious lot weren’t they .. can’t see us doing that today somehow?!).

In 1455 the series of civil wars now known as the Wars of the Roses broke out – so-called because the House of York adopted the White Rose as its emblem and the House of Lancaster bore the Red Rose. The struggle finally ended in 1485 with Henry Tudor the victor at the Battle of Bosworth.

Now was the time for reconciliation and a symbol of the re-unified nation was needed – Henry VII combined his Lancastrian Red Rose and the White Rose of his bride, Elizabeth of York, and the resulting combination was the Tudor Rose.

From that day the Tudor Rose, sometimes called the Union Rose, is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England, taking its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.

I have to say I am m not sure I would have liked to walk through Scotland barefoot, or fight in a field of leeks, let alone carve roses out of stone in the high temperatures of the Holy Land, or for that matter probably just live in the cold and damp of Ireland! Fortunately I live today .. but I love my history and traditional past!

Source: http://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2009/06/thistles-leeks-roses-and-shamrocks.html

********

WIkipedia:
The British florin, or two-shilling coin, was issued from 1849 until 1967, with a final issue for collectors dated 1970. Equivalent in value to one-tenth of a pound (24 old pence), it was the last coin circulating immediately prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993, having for a quarter of a century circulated alongside the ten-pence piece, identical in specifications and value.

The florin was introduced as part of an experiment in decimalisation that went no further at the time. The original florins, dated 1849, attracted controversy for omitting a reference to God from Queen Victoria's titles; that type is accordingly known as the "Godless florin", and was in 1851 succeeded by the "Gothic florin", for its design and style of lettering. Throughout most of its existence, the florin bore some variation of either the shields of the United Kingdom, or the emblems of its constituent nations on the reverse, a tradition broken between 1902 and 1910, when the coin featured a windswept figure of a standing Britannia.

In 1911, following the accession of George V, the florin regained the shields and sceptres design it had in the late Victorian era, and it kept that motif until 1937, when the national emblems were placed on it. The florin retained such a theme for the remainder of its run, though a new design was used from 1953, following the accession of Elizabeth II. In 1968, prior to decimalisation, the Royal Mint began striking the ten-pence piece. The old two-shilling piece remained in circulation until the ten-pence piece was made smaller, and earlier coins, including the florin, were demonetised.

Elizabeth II (1953–1970)
Florins were produced for Queen Elizabeth II each year between 1953 and 1967, with proof coins dated 1970. The obverse shows the Mary Gillick head of Queen Elizabeth, inscribed ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA BRITT OMN REGINA[k] (1953 only) or ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA[l] (all other years). This change was made to acknowledge the evolving British Commonwealth, which by then contained some republics. The reverse, by Edgar Fuller and Cecil Thomas, depicts a Tudor rose in the centre surrounded by thistles, shamrocks and leeks, with the Latin phrase FID DEF, the denomination and the date.[36] The designs were selected by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee following a public competition. The artists' initials appear either side of the Welsh leek at the bottom of the reverse. When the reverse of the new coin was illustrated in the press, there was no consensus as to which way was up; numismatist H.W.A. Linecar has noted that the second L in SHILLINGS marks the bottom of the coin.

In accordance with the plan for decimalisation of the currency (120 years after this denomination was first introduced in the initial plan to introduce a decimal currency), from 1968 the ten pence coin was introduced of the same size, weight and metal composition as the florin. Thus, the florin ceased to be struck for circulation after the 1967-dated pieces. The new and the old circulated side by side as florins prior to Decimal Day (15 February 1971) and as ten pence pieces after.

Florins (usually dated 1947 or later) remained in circulation after Decimal Day. In 1987, following a study of the currency, the Thatcher government announced its intent to issue a new ten pence piece, reduced in size. A smaller ten pence piece was issued in 1992, after which the old florin was demonetised on 30 June 1993. The florin, the first decimal coin, was the last coin in general circulation just prior to decimalisation to be withdrawn.