Le Franc - - a price guide for French coinage issued from 1795 - . The values listed are in US dollars for coins graded from G6 to MS65. The site has been translated into English, but the wording may seem a bit strange because of the translation. Nonetheless you should be able to readily understand and navigate the site. The online version is of Le Franc III from 1999, so the prices are not up to date. But it's about the best guide available on-line and will provide you with an idea of values. Up to date print versions of Le Franc VI, 2005 can be purchased by following the links provided on the page. But to be quite honest, it is my opinion that the prices listed were a bit high to begin with when the books were published. And I think you'll find the prices listed in the on-line version are only a bit low. Le Franc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iNumis French Coins - books on-line - - ever wish you had a copy of a book on French Royal coinage so you identify a given coin and have a correct listing of the legends ? Well now you can, from Hugues Capet to Louis XVI, and you can get it on-line for free. H. Hoffmann's, Les monnaies royales de France depuis Hugues Capet jusqu'à Louis XVI - Paris, 1878 is published complete with text & plates. Granted, the text is in French, but if you collect French coinage most of the numismatic terms are readily understandable. There are also quite a few other articles and so far two other books on French coinage published and available on this web site. iNumis - France --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- French Royal & Medieval Coins - From the Carolingians to the 19th Century, With a Carolingian emphasis, With numismatic, genealogical and historical notes - French Royal Medieval Coins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Napoleonic Medals - This is one of the better sites I have found for Napoleonic medals, coins & paper money. But the primary focus is on medals with many excellent pics and descriptions. Napoleonic Medals.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Les Monnaies De La Collection Ideale - This site will provide pics of French coinage in all denominations from the Revolution to 2001. The coins in these pics have been graded by the staff of cgb.fr, one of the leading auction houses in France and some of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of French coinage that I have ever run across. If you are unfamiliar with how to grade French coinage, this site can be an invaluable aid. Les Monnaies De La Collection Ideale -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Numismatique de rois de France - The site contains some basic historical info for each King from Hugues Capet to Napoleon III along with many pics of the coinage issued under each ruler. I have provided a link to the translated site but it can easily be viewed in the original French version. Numismatique de rois de France ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The History of the Franc - The title is self explanatory. The site contains pics of the coins from the franc a cheval (1360) to the modern age along with a brief history of each. The History of the Franc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- cgb.fr - This is probably the most comprehensive site there is on French coinage. Several of the sites listed above can be reached from this site alone. The site contains over 281,000 web pages and over 250,000 coin images. cgb is an auction house in France, but they provide a translated version of their site. Their auction records contain pricing information, hsitorical information, mintage - just about everything you might want to know about a given coin. But it can be a bear to find things if you don't know your way around. So if you just wish to explore and have fun - use the first link. If you wish to search for specific information use the second link - just type your key words into the dialogue boxes on the Google page. The page has already been selected to search ONLY the cgb site. cgb.fr Search cgb.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monnaie de Paris French Mint ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Le Site du Collectionneur The site is one operated by a collector who will either trade or sell. But the information contained and the pics of the coins found on this site can be quite valuable to one wishing to identify a particular coin. The site owner uses - Bo : Boudeau - illustrated general Catalogue of the Provincial French Currencies Pa : Poey of Before - Feudal Currencies of France (3 volumes) for attribution purposes. Le Site du Collectionneur ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fitzwilliam Museum On-Line Catalog of French Coinage Just what it says. The site will allow you to view pics and descriptions of French coinage from the medieval period. When you click on a coin to see the detail page, be sure to take a look at the links on the detail page. This will often allow you to see additional examples as well as much additional information. This site has a tremedous amount of information available that can be quite hard to find elsewhere. Fitzwilliam Museum - French Catalog ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fleur-de-lis "The origin of the fleur de lis has been debated for centuries. There are a number of inter-related questions with respect to the fleur-de-lis: what is the origin of the design which we know by that name? how old is it, and when was it first adopted by the kings of France? why did they adopt it? what is a fleur-de-lys: that is, to what flower or real object does it correspond? where does the name itself come from? This article provides answers and clues. " The Fleur-de-lis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
French Jetons & Medals While by no means a complete listing, the web site does provide pics of many beautiful examples in periods ranging from 1369 thru 1914 and for regions of Chatellenie, Lille and Flanders. The site is entirely in French, but it would still help one who cannot read French to identify an item they have. MEDAILLES ET JETONS DE LA CHATELLENIE DE LILLE ET POUR LA FLANDRE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a book for French coinage, that I would regard as exssential. Covers the period from the end of the Roman Empire to beginning of modern machine struck coinage: 'Coinage in France From the Dark Ages to Napoleon' by Nicholas Mayhew, publ. Seaby, 1988. 164 pages, 295 photographs, 3 maps, in text.
