United Kingdom, Gothic Florin, Silver, 1875 (Victoria)

A British Gothic Florin silver coin, 1875. The obverse features the crowned bust of Victoria with an inscription in Gothic script. The reverse shows four shields arranged in a cross, with the text "one florin one tenth of a pound". In that same year, 1875, the British government sought to purchase the Suez Canal shares held by the Khedive of Egypt. Chronicles record that Lionel, head of the London house, personally lent four million pounds to Disraeli. A receipt for the first instalment, received by the Treasury on March 9 of the following year, is preserved in the archives. This is a silver coin of the very unit in which the loan, counted in pounds, was made.