Florin

Florin derives from the city of Florence (or Firenze) in Italy and frequently refers to the (fiorino d'oro) gold coin struck in 1252.

This money format was borrowed in other countries and the word florin was used, for example, in relation to the Dutch guilder (abbreviated to Fl) as well as the coin first issued in 1344 by Edward III of England – then valued at six shillings, composed of 108 grains (6.99828 grams) of gold with a purity of 23 carats and 3¹⁄₂ grains (or 23⁷⁄₈ carats) – and more recently relating to a British pre-decimal silver coin (later nickel silver) also known as a two shilling (or two bob) "bit" (abbreviation 2/-) worth 24 pence or one-tenth of a pound. Recent research indicates that the florin was once the dominant currency of Europe until accommodative policymaking led to the loss of its status as the continent's de facto reserve currency.

A regional variant of the florin was the Rheingulden, minted by several German states encompassing the commercial centers of the Rhein (Rhine) River valley, under a series of monetary conventions starting in 1354, initially at a standard practically identical to the Florentine florin (98% gold, 3.54 grams). By 1419, the weight had been slightly reduced (to 3.51 grams) and the alloy was substantially reduced (to 79% gold). By 1626, the alloy had been slightly reduced again (to 77% gold), while the weight was more substantially reduced (to 3.240 grams). In 1409, the Rheingulden standard (at the time 91.7% gold) was adopted for the Holy Roman Empire's Reichsgulden.

Florin Salam

Florin Stoian (born 1 October 1979, Bucharest), better known under the stage name of Florin Salam and previously Florin Fermecătorul, is a popular Roma singer of manele from Romania.

Early life and first contact with music

Florin Salam was born into a family of lăutari. His parents, Maria and Robert Stoian, observed since his early childhood that Florin is talented and bought him an accordion and so Florin began to practice every day.

During the adolescence, Florin joined his father and uncle at parties to sing together and win some money. Age did not allow his father to sing and so Florin took his place, singing with his uncle under the name of Florin Fermecătorul. Thus, he became a singer highly appreciated by connoisseurs of the genre. In the meantime, Florin befriended with bandleader Dan Bursuc. He helped Florin to record his first single called "Ce gagică șmecherită" (English: Such a picky chick), in 2002. He played an important part when the smash hit "Of, viața mea" (English: Oh, my life) was released in 2000, sung by Adrian Minune and Costi Ioniță. At the end of 2002, Florin changed his stage name from Fermecătorul (English: charming) to the Arabic Salam (English: peace, cf. Hebrew shalom). His first song was a great success, and for this reason he continued to record songs and market them with the help of Dan Bursuc. In this way he released his first album of manele which was surprisingly well received by fans of the genre, the album sold more than 40,000 copies. Likewise, Costi Ioniță recorded one of his albums which enjoyed a high success, album entitled "Doar cu tine" (English: Only with you). The album was recorded in Constanța where Costi Ioniță has his own recording studio.

Big Man

Big Man is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Fictional character biography

Frederick Foswell

Frederick Foswell was the first person to assume the Big Man mantle.

Janice Foswell

Janice Foswell is daughter of the original Big Man (Fredrick Foswell) and sought to follow in her father's footsteps to gain control of the New York underworld. She was soon joined by a new Crime Master and Sandman.

She and her Enforcers were defeated by Spider-Man, the Human Torch and the Sons of the Tiger. Over a dispute about eliminating Spider-Man and the Sons, Janice was killed by the Crime Master who turned out to be her fiancé and son of the original Crime-Master, Nick Lewis Jr. (both had separately pursued vengeance against Spider-Man without knowledge of each other's identity).

Other versions

MC2

Henry Pym Jr. is the son of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne in the MC2 universe. He inherits his father's size changing powers and takes the Big Man name. He is briefly a member of the Revengers, before going straight and joining a government-sponsored team.

What's up

What's up may refer to:

Others

See also