The Florentine Florin

The Florentine florin rewrites the history of the gold florin, the most popular currency of medieval Europe, first minted in Florence in 1252. This book presents a multifaceted narrative where human agency, precious metals, and political institution each play their role in the florin's history.

Locatelli traces the entry of the florin into networks of commerce and power in which Florentine merchants, the Angevin Crown, and the Papacy were enmeshed. The florin succeeded as an economic vehicle for 'big business', was used for tax collection by the Papacy and the Angevin Crown, and projected authority and expertise across Europe. Through applying methods from several disciplines to archaeological evidence and written sources, Locatelli unveils a world of finance, statecraft, and enterprise.

This book revises our understanding of the florin, and so of late medieval and Renaissance Europe, providing a compelling new framework for the integrated study of material culture and economic practices.