Ghosting
A coin defect where a faded image can be seen with the main image of the coin. It may be the coin is poor quality and the reverse image shows through to the obverse. It may be worn dies. The pennies of George V 1911-27 suffered so badly they were called the 'Ghost Penny', but other British coins and US Cents have had similar problems.
Godless Florin
Refers to the 1849 silver Florin (two shillings) of Queen Victoria that was one of the most controversial coins to be made in Britain. The normal Latin abbreviations of Dei Gra or DG (meaning 'By the Grace of God') and Fid Def ('Defender of the Faith') were omitted and so the coin became the 'Godless' Florin. Whether the omission was some kind of Religious plot, or just an error of judgement is perhaps unclear, but it did cause public outcry and the next Florins minted reinstated the terms.
Gold
Gold is a rare precious metal, popular with investors and coin collectors. Chemical symbol 'Au'. We have an interesting article Why gold is a good investment – and why it is so expensive and rare.
Gold Standard
A monetary system where currency is linked directly to gold. Britain adopted the gold standard in 1816 and many other countries followed suit, but was abandoned in the 1930's when government debt required it to print more money than it had in gold.
Gothic Crown
The 1847 crown (5 shillings) designed by William Wyon. Queen Victoria is shown in a medieval style wearing an ornate crown, and the inscription is in a medieval Gothic style font in upper and lower case.
Gothic Florin
Florins minted 1851-87 following the Godless Florin. It was designed by William Wyon and shows Queen Victoria in a Gothic-style dress, wearing an ornate crown. The Monarch wearing a crown was unusual at the time. The legend is in Gothic script. The earlier omission of DG has been corrected, so these are not 'Godless'. The date is in lowercase Roman Numerals, e.g. 'mdccclii' is 1852. (See 1852 Florin for an example).
Grade
The formal condition of the coin, such as Fine (F), Good (G), Uncirculated (UNC). May vary by Country.
Groat
The Groat is an old coin worth four pence. It was found in England, Ireland and Scotland. The English Groat can be traced back to Edward I and was minted (not every year) up until Victoria although the fourpence coin is still minted today for use in Maundy sets. See Groats Section.
Guinea
The Guinea is a famous British gold coin minted between 1663 and 1814. Originally it was £1, although now it is better known as being worth One Pound and One Shilling (21 shillings). See Guineas section.
List items on:
 | Victoria Gothic Florin Silver Coin x3 £ 30.00 |
 | 1884 Victoria Gothic Florin 0.925 Silver Coin 11.3g £ 99.00 |
 | 1864 Gothic Florin - Victoria British Silver Coin £ 179.00 |
 | 1878 Gothic Florin Victoria British Silver Coin £ 89.00 |
 | 1878 Victoria Gothic Silver Florin Coin #1313L £ 120.00 |
 | Florin 1849 Victoria Gothic Godless aVF (T37) £ 79.99 |
 | 1862 UK 2 Schillings, Queen Victoria Gothic Florin. 0.925 Silver. VF-35 Grade £ 300.00 |
 | Real Nice Gothic Florin In Fine Condition MDCCCLXXI ROMAN NUMERALS AS DATE 1871 £ 250.00 |
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Numismatics is the study of coin collecting and it also has its own language with many words and terms. Our Glossary of Numismatic Terms give the explanation to some of these coin collecting words. To contribute terms please email them to glossary@coinparade.co.uk.