1940 AD., United Kingdom, George VI, Royal mint London, 2 Shillings, KM 855.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, George VI, engravers: Thomas Humphrey Paget (obverse) and George Edward Kruger Gray (reverse), Royal mint London, 1940 AD.,
2 Shillings (1 Florin, 1⁄10 pound sterling) (ø 28,5 mm / 11,13 g), 0.500 silver, 11,30 g theor. mint weight, mintage 18.700.300 , axis medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), reeded edge,
Obv.: GEORGIUS VI D: G: BR: OMN: REX / HP , his bare head facing left, engraver´s initials just below truncation.
Rev.: :FID:DEF: - :IND:IMP: / G - R / K - G / TWO SHILLINGS 1940 , crowned Tudor rose flanked by thistle and shamrock, legend above, value and date below, G R flanking, engraver´s initials divided by rose twig below, legend with "IND:IMP".
KM 855 ; Spink 4081 .

Year / Mintage
ND
1937 13,006,700
1937 2 Matte Proof
1937 26,400 Proof
1938 7,909,300
1938 Proof
1939 20,850,600
1939 Proof
1940 18.700.300
1940 Proof
1941 24,451,000
1941 Proof
1942 39,895,200
1942 Proof
1943 26,711,900
1943 Proof
1944 27,560,000
1944 Proof
1945 25,858,000
1945 Proof
1946 22,910,000
1946 Proof

The British two shilling coin, also known as the florin or "two bob bit", was issued from 1849 until 1967. It was worth one tenth of a pound, or twenty-four old pence. It should not be confused with the medieval gold florin, which was nominally worth six shillings. The medieval gold florin or double leopard was an attempt in 1344 by English king Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England (see also half florin or leopard and quarter florin or helm). It was 108 grains (6.99829 grams) of nominal pure ('fine') gold and had a value of six shillings (i.e. 72d). The continental florin, based on a French coin and ultimately on coins issued in Florence, Italy, in 1252, was a standard coin (3.5 g fine gold) widely used internationally.
The coins were underweight for their value, resulting in them being unacceptable to merchants, and the coins were withdrawn after only a few months in circulation, in August 1344, to be melted down to produce the more popular gold noble (9 g gold valued at 6s 8d).

In 1847 a motion was introduced in Parliament calling for the introduction of a decimal currency and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound. The motion was subsequently withdrawn on the understanding that a one-tenth pound coin would be produced to test public opinion. There was considerable discussion about what the coin should be called, with centum, decade, and dime being among the suggestions, before florin was eventually settled upon, partly because of its connection with old English coinage, and partly because other European countries also had coins of approximately the same size and weight called florins. The first florins were struck in 1849 as silver coins weighing 11.3 grams and having a diameter of 28 millimetres. These first coins would have come as rather a shock to the public, as for the first time in nearly 200 years a British coin featured a portrait of the monarch wearing a crown. Even more of a shock, including (allegedly) to Queen Victoria herself, was the omission of D G – Dei Gratia ("by the grace of God") – from the coin's inscription, which resulted in it being popularly known as the godless florin. The inscription around the obverse read VICTORIA REGINA 1849. The reverse featured four crowned cruciform shields with a rose in the centre, with the shields separated by a rose, thistle, rose, and a shamrock; the inscription on the reverse was ONE FLORIN ONE TENTH OF A POUND. The "godless florin" may have also been minted in 1850 and 1851 with the date 1849.

In 1851, the florin was redesigned in a most unusual way. The diameter was increased to 30 millimetres, and all the lettering on the coin was in Gothic script, resulting in it being known as the Gothic florin. The date was rendered in Roman numerals. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) victoria d g britt reg f d mdcccli ( F D – Fidei Defensor, defender of faith), while the reverse read one florin one tenth of a pound. The Gothic Florin was produced each year until 1887 (mdccclxxxvii).
In 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, a new older "Jubilee Head" of the queen was used and the various flora were removed from the reverse and replaced by sceptres between the shields and a Garter Star in the centre. The diameter was reduced to 29.5 millimetres. All the inscriptions were in Latin letters and Arabic numerals. The inscription on the obverse read (e.g.) VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, while the reverse read FID DEF BRITT REG date, with no indication of the value. The Jubilee Head issue was released each year between 1887 and 1892.

In 1893, a new "Old Head" showing the veiled head of the queen was introduced, inscribed VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP, together with a completely new reverse showing three shields separated by a rose, shamrock, and thistle surmounted by the Garter crown and inscribed ONE FLORIN TWO SHILLINGS. The diameter was reduced again, to 28.5 millimetres. This issue was released each year between 1893 and 1901.
In 1968, in the run-up to decimalisation, the two shilling coin was superseded by the decimal ten pence coin, which had the same value and initially the same size and weight. It continued in circulation, alongside the ten pence coin, until 1992, when the 10p was reduced in size.

King George VI's florins, produced each year between 1937 and 1951, look very much like the one planned for his brother Edward VIII. The obverse shows the left-facing effigy of the king inscribed GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX, while the reverse shows a crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock, with G below the thistle and R below the shamrock, and the inscription FID DEF IND IMP TWO SHILLINGS date until 1948, and without the IND IMP from 1949, in acknowledgement of India's independence. From 1947 the metal content was changed, as for all British silver coins, to 75% copper, 25% nickel. This removal of all the silver meant that most of the earlier coins which contained silver were removed from circulation fairly quickly (see Gresham's law).

More on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_shilling_coin , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florin_(English_coin)