Review – The Original Coin Guitar Pick Company Florin
It was the day I realised that I was going to take this blog thing seriously, that the absence of such a resource from the internet was unacceptable in my eyes, and that it was my humble duty to sort that out. Because you see, before this outrageous piece turned up, I was only half a collector.
A real collector doesn’t stop when their flimsy funds get in their way. A real collector seeks out the items that couldn’t possibly make sense to others in their field, full in the knowledge that everything must be tried. It is in this spirit of adventure that I recount my experience with the Original Coin Guitar Pick Company.
Made by hand by one Ruvane Kurland, with whom you can read an interview here, this pick started life in 1921 as a British Florin. Made from 50% Silver, I had absolutely no idea how it was going to sound when it arrived in its borderline-impenetrable presentation box (with real leather laser-engraved pick pouch thrown in – cheers Ruvane).
Shorter and narrower than a Jazz XL, the Florin is heavy – heavy for a pick, obviously – and as it is fundamentally a coin it feels a bit odd at first, but the power was ridiculous. Easily the most aggressive pick I own, pipping even the rabid T1 Jazz to that crown, the Florin brushed my strings aside like tall grass, its perfectly polished tip striking precisely the way I intended.
On acoustic it was, I’ll be honest, a bit brutal. Divining an almost worrying amount of volume from my OM, after the holy-crap factor died down the chirping on the plain strings became wholly apparent, and although acrylic picks like the V Picks Dimension also have this attribute because there’s so much surface area, the brightness of the Florin meant that I was acutely aware of it. That being said, such a thing only becomes intrusive during slower passages, and in the battle-heat of a gig you’ll be too busy marvelling at all the high-end clarity you didn’t know you had to be bothered by it.
This, then, is the synopsis. The grip is proper – amazing for this sort of material, in fact – at no point did I worry about dropping it. With overdrive, the cut and clarity was barmy. The note separation was more pronounced than stone, and although the chirping was noticeable on acoustic, on electric the Florin delivered a years’ worth of mail at once. I have yet to play anything else that articulates the true nature of a player on the electric guitar as much as this outlandish item, and although it’s expensive, it’ll last you the rest of your natural life. Lethal.
Vitals:
- Approx. 1.75mm thick
- 50% silver, 40% copper, 10% nickel. It’s a coin
- Technically crafted by the Royal Mint of George V in 1921 before it changed composition to 50% silver, 50% copper in 1922
- Shaped by hand
- Cost Per Unit: $33.00 for this one, but prices vary from $15 for an Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Token to $750 for a solid platinum USA Statue Of Liberty coin. There’s scope is what I’m saying
- A completely nuts 9/10
- Pitilessly clear and utterly devastating
https://coinguitarpicks.com/product/1921-england-1-florin-50-silver/
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