The pre-decimal florin (2s) was a unit of currency equalling two shillings, or one tenth of a pound sterling, or twenty-four pence. The denomination was introduced in 1849 (with a pattern minted in 1848) as the first move towards decimalisation of the British coinage.
This first type of florin is known as the Godless Florin (or, in some earlier sources, the Graceless Florin) because the Queen's legend on the obverse omitted the traditional "DEI GRATIA" ("By the Grace of God") part. After much public outcry, the second ("Gothic Florin") issue starting in 1851 included it again. Thus, excluding the 1848 pattern, this is a one-year type and a "key date" on the florin series.
The general style of the first florins differs considerably from that of the rest of the contemporary coinage, especially in the obverse which uses the so-called "Gothic Portrait" of Queen Victoria not used on other British coins, excepting the ten new pence; they remained legal tender until 1993, when a smaller type of ten pence replaced them. | 
