Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Double florin/archive1
The double florin, or four-shilling piece, was produced by the Royal Mint between 1887 and 1890, one of the shortest-lived of all British coin denominations. Its obverse, designed by Joseph Boehm and engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon, depicts Queen Victoria, whilst the reverse, featuring national symbols of the United Kingdom, was designed by Wyon based on the coinage of Charles II. When issued in June 1887, the Jubilee coinage, of which the double florin was a part, provoked an outcry. The small royal crown Boehm had placed on Victoria's head provoked widespread mockery. The double florin was criticised as it was close in size to the five-shilling crown coin, leading to confusion, said to be particularly acute in public houses, where barmaids accepted it believing it to be a crown, giving it the nickname of "Barmaid's Ruin". The coin was no longer minted after 1890, though it remained in circulation for many years, and is still legal tender for 20p (£0.20). (Full article...)