Coins of Queen Victoria’s reign are highly in-demand amongst collectors of British Coins. Queen Victoria’s reign began in 1837, after her uncle William IV died. Her reign saw the Golden Age of the British Empire, as well as numerous technological innovations brought by the industrial revolution.
Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace, London. She became queen at 18 in 1837 and ruled for 63 years. Her reign was the second-longest in British History, giving coin collectors many dates and denominations from which to choose from. Some coin types were short-lived such as the Double-Florin, and some dates are rather peculiar such as the one seen on the Godless Florin.
Victoria married Prince Albert on the 10, February of 1840 and the two had 9 children together. Prince Alfred passed away in 1861 which left the Queen devastated. With his loss she entered a deep state of mourning wearing black and a veil for the rest of her life.
British coinage would later reflect the Queen's state of mourning. With both the Jubilee Head and Old Head portraits featuring the Queen wearing a veil.
Victorian coins went through 3 different periods, the Young Head Coinage, The Jubilee Coinage and the Old Head coinage. Her reign saw the introduction of the Florin (1/10th of a pound or 0.1 pounds) and the Double Florin. Although they would discontinue the Double Florin after only two years.
Victorian Coins for Sale
If you wish to buy Victorian coins, we have available below coins from all three periods of her coinage. Including some Queen Victoria rare coins.
The Double Florin was only issued for 4 years from 1887 to 1890 during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee period. A Double florin was 4 shillings, a shilling less than a Crown. This small difference proved to be very expensive and caused no end of problems, so in 1890 they stopped minting them altogether. These are struck in Sterling Silver and have the Queen’s Jubilee Bust on the obverse, the reverse has crowned cruciform shields around central the Garter star, four sceptres with national emblems fill the angles. We have a group of 1887 Double Florins in Nearly extremely Fine condition available, most would call them EF, but while stocks last, we can offer them at a Special Price. A shortlived, large silver Victorian coin in high grade and approaching 140 years old!
When Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1887, she not only allowed them to change her portrait but also to issue a new denomination. That was the Double Florin which was equivalent to Four Shillings. It was almost crownsized and struck in Sterling Silver. Today we have an equivalent coin, but we call it a 20 Pence. Shows what time and inflation will do to money. The Double Florin was also known as the Bar-Maids ruin. After she had had a few drinks, the bar-maid would often give change for a Crown and not a Double Florin. That Shilling difference was a lot of money and came directly from the Bar-Maids wages. This Double Florin was only made from 1887-1890. In the past we have offered the Queen Victoria Double Florin in Fine and even in Very Fine, now we can offer them in Extremely Fine condition. These are super coins and most are dated 1887, remember they are struck in Sterling Silver and they have the Jubilee Head portrait of the Queen.
The Double Florin was a short-lived denomination 1887-1890, which had a value of four shillings and was struck in Sterling Silver. We have bought a nice group the last and more difficult date, 1890, they are in Very Good and Fine condition. The collector had something for that date and put aside all that he saw over a rather long period of time. These coins were also known as ‘The Barmaid’s Ruin’ as they often mistook the four-shilling piece for a crown or five-shilling piece. We are going to offer this better date coin at the same price we would charge for a regular date of Double Florin. All coins are dated 1890 and are available in two different grades, Fine the choice is yours…
Do you have this Victorian Silver Coin in your pocket? Well no actually you don’t, but you might have the direct decimal equivalent. If you have in your pocket or handbag a 20p piece please get it out. Because the coin we are offering you is the same denomination but in Victorian spending money. The famous or infamous Victorian Double Florin (Four Sterling Silver Shillings) would be worth 20p in today’s money. Here we present the coin in Fine condition. First issued for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 the Double Florin was last issued in 1890. Too many drunk barmaids gave change for a crown 5 shillings when they were only given a Double Florin 4 shillings. This helped to get them to stop making this short-lived denomination. Its nickname quickly became ‘the barmaid’s ruin’, for all those barmaids who gave the wrong change and were ruined..
While you might not have this Victorian silver coin in your pocket, you probably have its direct decimal equivalent. If you have in your pocket or handbag a 20p piece please get it out. Because the coin we are going to offer you is the same denomination but in Victorian spending money. The famous or infamous Double Florin or Four Sterling Silver Shillings, and in today’s money 20p. First issued for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 the Double Florin was last issued in 1890. Too many drunk barmaids gave change for a crown 5 shillings when they were only given a Double Florin 4 shillings. This helped to get them to stop making this short-lived denomination. Its nickname had quickly become ‘the barmaid’s ruin’, for all those barmaids who gave the wrong change and were ruined...
The Double Florin or Bar Maid’s Ruin as it was known was only struck from 1887 until 1890. By then they decided that the denomination was causing more trouble than it was solving and they ceased making it. A Double Florin was four Shillings almost crownsized and struck in Sterling Silver. It was issued as part of the new Jubilee Head issue to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 50th year as our Queen. They were well and truly used and we are offering them in Very Good condition. They are dated between 1887-1890.
£49.50
1838 Victoria Young Head Coinage
The Young Head portrait is the first depiction of Queen Victoria on coins. It was created by the Royal Mint's chief engraver at the time, William Wyon. They introduced it in 1838 and used the portrait until 1895 on bronze coins.
1887 Victoria Jubilee Coinage
In 1887, they changed the design of the silver and gold coins for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. But they only placed the design on the Maundy coinage in 1881. The Jubilee head coinage featured a depiction of Queen Victoria by Joseph Edgar Boehm. In this design the Queen is wearing her small diamond crown, a design choice that was very controversial at the time.
Many numismatists have expressed their dislike for this choice. Including our founder, Richard Lobel, who said that "the small crown placed on the back of the queen's head made her look a bit foolish" in our in our Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins
An important coinage change that occurred during this period was the introduction of the Double Florin.
1893 Victoria Old Head Coinage
The Old Head coinage or Veiled Head coinage featured Queen Victoria wearing a diadem partially hidden by a widow’s veil. The coins of this type were struck between 1893 and 1901, and the portrait on the obverse was designed by Thomas Brock.
New Denominations Introduced in Victorian Coinage
Florin - Gothic & Godless
They made the first Florin in 1849 which was exactly 1/10th of a pound or 0.1 pounds. That denomination still exists today: we call it a 10 Pence Piece. But there were some problems...
They forgot to place ‘Dei Gratia’ – by the grace of God on the coin. So they quickly had to withdraw the coin and issued the Gothic Florin until two years later in 1851. Collectors also know the 1849 Florin as the 'Godless' Florin for that reason. It is only a one-year type coin and very important as our first decimal coin in over a thousand years.
In 1851, they changed the design of the Florin to the Gothic portrait. This new design featured a crowned portrait of the Queen facing left on the obverse, and four crowned coats of arms on the reverse.
What's strange about this coin is its date. At the time a large part of the population was illiterate, but yet, instead of using the numbers we know today as Arabic numerals, they used Roman numerals. This meant that a large part of the populace could not even read the date on the coin. As 1872 became (MDCCC) Ixxii.
Double Florin – the Barmaid’s ruin
They first issued the Double Florin in 1887 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and they last issued it in 1890. It gained the nickname "Barmaid's ruin" during its short-lived existence.
The nickname happened because barmaids often made mistakes when giving change. They would give change for a 5 shilling coin instead of change for a 4 shilling coin. This helped to get them to stop making this short-lived denomination.
This coin is the equivalent to a 20p piece in Victorian spending money (Four Sterling Silver Shillings).
