Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 2022. Estimate $10000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $14000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANGLO-GALLIC. Edward III. 1327-1377. AV Florin (2.61 gm). Bordeaux mint. Struck 1352-1355. +DVX AQITANIE, lily of Florence / S IOhA NNES B, St. John the Baptist standing; leopard's head and crown. Elias 36d; Poey d'Avant 2832. Good VF. One of the great rarities in the Anglo-Gallic series. ($10,000)

The florin was introduced at Bordeaux to provide a handy trade coin for Edward's French possessions. Documentary evidence suggests the florin was first struck around 1352, when the Bordeaux mint was leased to Bernard de la Brète for one year. This suggests the production of this coin was a local initiative. Unfortunately, mint authorities failed to maintain the rigorous standards that made the florin so widely acceptable, and the weight dropped rapidly from the norm of 3.50 gm to as low as 2.30 gm by 1355. Its extreme rarity leads to the conclusion that the unpopular coin was withdrawn from circulation, to be replaced by the leopard d'or in September, 1355.