My wife found these two coins in a box of family items from her parents who passed on in 1980's. I think possibly they might have been ones her Dad brought home after WWll. I have not tried to clean either to see details. I think one is a 1933 France 50 centimes denomination. The other appears to be a 1938 10 cents coin, and I think it is Netherlands country of origin. He was in France, Netherlands & Italy. Is there any more than sentimental value here? Thanks, and any & all comments will be appreciated.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces890.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2838.html Some info on each one for you
In general cleaning coins lowers their value, so I'm glad you haven't done that. And you're correct in your identification of the coins. I doubt they're worth much besides sentimental value. It's cool to know your father in law may have brought them back from Europe during the war.
Hi Peter, The 10 cent coin is neat due to being made of 64% silver. However, that's still under a buck at today's prices so you'll have to wait a while before cashing in on it. Those coins are certainly worth more for sentimental value. My maternal grandparents traveled the world right after WWII (both grandfathers served as well) and amassed quite a hoard of coins like these. I finally had an opportunity to travel in very early 2020 -- just in time, right? -- and added some of my own to it. The family hoard The only time I part with them is when I give a few to the young nephews and nieces once in a while. They like coins right now. We'll see if it sticks when they get older.
Quite right, cleaning can lower the value of coins, however, the melt value of the 10 cent Netherlands coin is $0.67 whereas the value for a Fine example would be about a dollar, so, clean away. Obviously don't use a wire brush or something like that on it, but a bath in mild soap and water with a good scrub with a toothbrush followed by a thorough rinse and blotting (no rubbing) dry will improve the appearance without affecting the value. Now for more valuable coins, cleaning (conservation) should only be done if you know what you are doing.
Interesting side note, the dubbeltje, the ten cent Netherlands coin you have was chosen by the Dutch inventors of the compact disc as the size of the center hole.
