Florin Brooch

$5.00

There are an enormous number of medieval pewter brooches in the form of gold and silver coins from all over Europe – nobles, angels, écus, leeuwengroots. This brooch reflects the size and decoration of the florin; the original, dated 1300-1383, was found in Ypres.

There is pictorial evidence of what look like real gold coins being worn as jewels, and a Flemish find of a pewter decoration for a band or garland that still holds a late 13th-century silver double tournois (Heilig en Profaan 3, No. 4332).  In 2024 a brooch made from a late 13th-century French silver coin was discovered in Norfolk (GB). The fashion for coins or coin-shaped jewels seems strange to us, but it seems to have been long-lasting and to have permeated a wide range of social classes. Some may have been a stylish display of wealth; others perhaps a charm (like the purse pendants) to attract wealth.


Product details: van Beuningen, H. J. E. Heilig en Profaan 3. Langbroek: Stichting Middeleeuwse Religieuze en Profane Insignes, 2012. No. 3524.
Dimensions (H x W):
7/8 x 7/8 inches
22 x 22 mm

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Description

amulet

Additional information

Pennsic debut

2016