Florentine Gold Florin

Timeline

1. 1252Florence Mint · FlorenceThe Republic of Florence established the florin as a standard gold coin of 3.5 grams of 24K gold; its stable weight and fineness quickly displaced irregular local gold coins, becoming the preferred settlement currency of Tuscan and northern Italian merchants.
2. 1381–1390Florence · FlorenceIn the 1380s the florin was widely accepted in Venice, Genoa, Avignon, and Central European trade nodes; bankers and merchants priced wool, spices, and luxury goods in florins, and its prestige supported Florence's financial influence through the Hundred Years' War and Italian political turmoil.
3. c. 1430–1530Florence · FlorenceIn the 15th century competing gold coins such as the Venetian ducat arose, but the florin long maintained its international prestige; it continued to be minted steadily in the Medici era, becoming a core specimen for studying late medieval European monetary history.