1905 French Franc Rooster

This is my first post so please bear with me..I hope the pics work. I do not collect coins but this was given to me by a gentlemen many years ago who did collect coins. I do not want to call it uncirculated because I am not sure. By looking at the coin could you give me a way to describe it. It looks good in my eyes but what do I know
I am going to sell it and need a way to describe it....or....does it pay to have it done professionally?
Thanks so much
Pat

 

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This is a 20 Francs from France (obviously) KM#847 90% Gold (apparently) with 9,158,000, worth 130$ in Unc. according to my 34th edition Krause

 

Thank you Snaz - I guess I was off - I thought it was according to the price of gold and I am figuring $870 X .1867 ? amount of gold..anyway that brought me up to $160 or so I thought.
Appreciate the help
Pat

 

Actually you are right, although no dealer will give you that for it. But Gold has definitely jumped and passed the numismatic value for this.
So I think it is safe to say somewhere between 130$ and 160$.
Im sure with better pictures we could tell you if its worth getting graded, Maybe it could be worth more..

 

Thanks so much and what would you call the condition of the coin. It is not air tight but it is in it's only little plastic holder.
Pat

 

well, it definitely looks UNC but better pictures would be needed for a more accurate grade.

 

Thanks Snaz - when you say better pictures - I could make these larger or do you mean to retake the photo at a different angle?
I really do appreciate your time and help
Pat

 

Pat,

First off, "Welcome to Coin Talk"!

Your' 1905 20 Franc coin is very nice and it is uncirculated! I am not familiar with the grading for these pieces but if I had to guess, I would say that it is MS-64 or better. There appears to be a few minor hits (one of these on the upper right portion of the Rooster's wing) on the coin but I took those into account when guessing at the grade.

I have edited and cropped the pictures you provided. I have attached them below and hope they better show how nice the coin really is!


Frank

 

Thanks so much Frank - how nice of you! I tell you...as mentioned I don't collect coins but I started reading this newsgroup while waiting for answers on my question.
I am very impressed - it makes me want to start collecting.
I've been here and there on many forums but I am amazed at the kindness of people on this site. Thanks Snaz and Frank but also thanks to all since I am reading some very interesting posts.
Sincerely
Pat

 

Here is a shot of my 1908. The dark line cutting his neck off is a reflection of the plastic film from the 2X2 holder. It is a beautiful coin and my plans are to hold onto it. Now I must mention that many of these were restrikes.
Made after 1905 and 1908 using old dies. I think mine is a restrike.
However being a restrike does not take away much from the value IMO.

 

Pat,

It is our pleasure to help! I wish you much luck on selling the coin! eBay appears to be your best market to get a decent price for the coin. I checked the current and past auctions for a 1905 20 Franc Rooster and there was only one currently up for auction at this time with none in the "Completed Auctions" for the period shown. This may be good as your' coin may be a low mintage Date. The final bid prices for these have varied quite a bit since about mid-December but the value trend appears to be on the rise. They sold at lows from just over $160 to highs mainly in the $170 to $190 range on average in December but now appear to be averaging $185 to $220 with a few lower and a few higher. Hopefully someone on Coin Talk will have to mintages of different years so you can see if your's is a low mintage Date and then you can compare the mintages to the prices brought on eBay. This will give you a somewhat better idea as to how much it brings. However, if the Markets (Gold, Silver and Stock Markets) are having a bad week or few days, this could significantly effect the outcome of the auction! If you decide to go the eBay route, do your homework and see what variations of Titles for these on eBay seem to bring the highest final bid price. Too much or too little identifyng information can hurt the Auction! Also, make sure that you post excellent pictures (and crop out any unnecessary background) in the Auction Listing so that the bidders will be able to see what a nice coin they are getting.


Good luck...Frank

 

IF it's a restrike the 1905 mintage figure isn't valid. You'd have to find out the restrike mintage.

 

Victor,

How do you tell a restrike from an original? Also, from what I can find, the Restrikes were Dated from 1907 to 1914 but another source showed Restrikes minted with Dates in the 1920's with none before 1907. If these Dates (Years) are correct, then the OP's coin must be original!


Frank

 

Thanks again all for the help, welcomes and kindness shown. I am learning every day. I read somewhere on the net that there were about 100,000 1905 coins made.
I tried getting a better photo and I this photo I see a smudge/smear that wasn't there yesterday. Is this a fingerprint (leaving room to kill hubby) or what? Did it devalue the coin?

Victor's coin is the color of my coin. I think this picture shows the color better but now I am concerned about this black mark that wasn't there.

Thanks again Pat

 

There were 9,158,000 minted.
Victor,
What did yours grade, or having it hand what grade do you assign it?

 

I bought it at an antique auction. But the auctioneer is also a coin dealer.
He had unc. marked on the holder.

 

ROFL - that's a huge difference from the 100,000 I saw. It was on a coin dealers site Too funny. Did you see my new pic - what the heck is that black smudge?
Thanks
Pat

 

Yes it would seem so. The restrikes would most likely be in BU condition.
And the originals would be more subject to wear, scuffing, etc. from handling.
There will always be exceptions in both cases though.

 

My husband just admitted that he held it with his handkerchief!!!!!!!
You saw the earlier pics it just wasn't there - I bet he rubbed it by mistake.
Did it devalue the coin by much?
AARG - that gets me steamed. I held it carefully by the ends and now this.
Pat