ANTIQUE GOLD FLORENTINE FORINT Royal Red Cushion

The forint was one of the first gold coins to be minted after the fall of the Roman Empire in Italy . Weighing 3.54 grams was beaten 24 carat gold for the first time in 1252 in Florence. The name comes from the name of the lily in Latin , the heraldic symbol of Florence , represented on the obverse of the coin. On the reverse side there was St. John , the patron saint of the city , standing. In the thirteenth century, and until the Renaissance , the forint , thanks to the growing power of Florence bank , became the preferred currency of exchange in Europe and together with the duchy of Venice also the most imitated . In fact, the types of the famous Florentine coin were beaten by several countries with which Florence entertained business relationships such as Spain, France, the Netherlands , Luxembourg, Czech Republic , Hungary, Poland , changing only the legend , initially had a great adherence to the originals and then go to iconographic choices that best identified the country imitating . And not only that . For the remarkable prestige attained, the Florentine florin was imitated in several Italian cities including Rome , Naples and some centres of northern Italy .