One Florin today for a thousand Florins tomorrow

History of the Gold Florin by Luca Giannelli

Florence at the time of Florin

In the middle of the 13th century, Florence was still enclosed within the second circle of walls, which coincided with today’s Via dei Benci and Via Sant’Egidio, and, encompassing the Duomo and San Lorenzo, reached the Arno by way of Via dei Fossi. On the other side of the river, from Piazza dei Mozzi, it skirted the Boboli hill and, through Pazza Pitti, reached Via dei de’ Serragli. There were only three bridges: Ponte Vecchio, Ponte da Rubaconte (Ponte alle Grazie) and Ponte alla Carraia, while the Ponte a Santa Trinita was still under construction. The great city building sites were still to be decided and in addition to the ancient churches, the construction of the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, or Bargello, began during these years. By the end of the 12th century, Florence had established itself as a free commune, independent of the Marquisate of Tuscany, while within the city the two political groups of Guelphs and Ghibellines fought for political hegemony. In 1250 a popular uprising put an end to Ghibelline domination and a government known as ‘Primo Popolo’ was formed with a greater presence of merchants and craftsmen in city life.

The Gold Florin

The city of Florence in the 13th century, with the ambition of becoming one of the most important and influential economic and commercial powers in Europe, needed its own currency and in 1237 the Fiorino Vecchio was minted in silver. Later, in 1252, the Florentine Mint ‘sprang like a small sun’ from what was to become the symbol of the city’s economic power: the Gold Florin. The coin, depicting on one side the Florentine lily with the inscription ‘FLOR – ENTIA’ and on the other the effigy of St John the Baptist, patron saint of the city with the inscription ‘S – IOHANNES – B – ‘, was made of pure gold (24 Kt) and weighed 3.536 grams.

The “Signore della Zecca per l’oro” (Lord of the Mint for gold), “extracted by lot and luck” every six months from among the members of the Calimala art, was charged with guaranteeing the quality of the currency and supervising the work of the Florentine Mint, imposing his symbol or coat of arms above the raised index finger of the blessing Patron Saint. Hence the Florentine saying “Saint John doesn’t want any tricks”.

In 1345 the seat of the Mint was in Piazza dei Signori, near the ancient church of San Pier Scherraggio and it had a tower, demolished in 1363 to build the Loggia dell’Orcagna. The mint was later moved to the Arno, adjacent to the tower in what is now Piazza Piave. The gold florin was abolished in the third decade of the 16th century with the fall of the Florentine Republic and the return of Alessandro dei Medici as Duke of Florence. It has always been the custom of the Florentines to donate the Gold Florin as a symbol of good luck on the occasion of a birth, accompanied by the wish that ‘a florin today for a thousand florins tomorrow‘.

The Florentine Arts

In the Middle Ages, the Arts were organisations that brought together craftsmen and professionals, representing the expression of Florentine entrepreneurship. They were run by consuls, had their own statutes and established the rights and duties of their members. Each had its own seat, a patron saint and an insignia, and the Tribunale di Mercatanzia supervised them all. The presence of the Arts in Florence is documented as early as the middle of the 12th century. The oldest is the Arte di Calimala, which brought together the merchants, controlled the gold mint and organised celebrations in honour of the patron saint.

Control of the silver mint and the misture was entrusted to the Arte del Cambio. The Arts, seven major and fourteen minor, were protagonists of the economic and commercial power of Florence and as such became increasingly important in the city’s politics. Dante Alighieri also became a member, enrolling in the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali. From 1282-83, the Arti Majors steadily dominated Florence’s city government for almost two centuries until the advent of the Medici Seigniory, when they lost all political power. They were abolished by Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine in 1780.

Mastro Adamo, the forger

The gold florin, which spread throughout Europe, also attracted the attention of numerous forgers. Famous is the story of Master Adam, remembered by Dante in the XXX Canto of the Inferno, who places him in the pit of forgers where he is subjected to the punishment of dropsy, which deforms his body and swells his belly out of all proportion.

Dante heard about this when a box full of forged gold florins was found in a cellar in Borgo San Lorenzo, Florence, after a fire. Mastro Adamo was instigated by the avaricious brothers Guido, Alessandro and Aghinolfo of the Counts Guidi di Romena, lords of the upper Casentino, to falsify the florins by removing three carats of gold from the regular 24 (“e m’indussreo a batter li fiorin i / ch’avevan tre carati di mondiglia”). The forged gold florins were then passed on by a “spendthrift” not only in Florence, but also throughout Tuscany, in Perugia and even in Rome, thus discrediting the renowned Florentine currency. Mastro Adamo was arrested and burnt alive in 1281. The sentence was probably carried out in Florence in order to wash away the shame at the site of the sale, but popular tradition has it that the soldiers, led by the Bargello himself, ambushed him at the Consuma pass, in the place still known today as Omomorto. When Adam realised he had been ambushed, he swallowed a whole bottle of poison that he always kept with him, but, without mercy, a bonfire was prepared on the spot, where he was burnt while still in agony and his ashes scattered in the wind.

Short history

1250 First People’s Government
1252 The first gold florin is minted
1255 Construction of the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, now the Bargello, begins.
1260 Battle of Montaperti
1279 Construction begins on the new church of Santa Maria Novella
1282-83 Government of the Arts
1285 Construction of the last city walls begins
1289 Battle of Campaldino
1293 Order of Justice
1295 Construction of the new basilica of Santa Croce begins
1296 Laying of the first stone of the new cathedral
1299 Laying of the first stone of the Palazzo dei Priori
1300 Dante Alighieri is Prior of the Arts
1300 First Jubilee in Rome
1302 Exile and death sentence for Dante Alighieri
1302 c. Arnolfo and Cimabue die
1321 Dante Alighieri dies in exile
1333 Flood in Florence
1334 Beginning of the construction of Giotto’s bell tower
1337 Death of Giotto
1343-46 Bankruptcy of the Bardi and Peruzzi banks
1348 Plague in Florence