1981-1983 10 franc mintage 1981 50,000 1982 72,000 1983 101,000 these would be extreme rarities in the American market?
Could be. But it does not make much sense to say that this or that coin has a "low" mintage (low by US standards) and then deduct that therefore it is "undervalued" by US standards. Christian
Price is determined by supply and demand . It might have a low by US standards mintage , but if there aren't a lot of people who want one there's more than enough to meet the demand , so the price stays down .
Demand for 20th Century French coins always seems very low. It may be something to do with the number of times they have devalued or re-coined in their economy. A browse through Krause shows an extraordinary number of different styles, sizes and designs for all their coins - it must be a very frustrating Country to collect!
Guess that, if you view French coinage from a British or American perspective only, you may come to such conclusions. But of course it is true that collecting coins is more popular in some countries than in others. Another factor that influences prices: If all one ever collects is pieces from 1 country and from the past 200 years, you will of course pay more for relatively rare coins from that segment ... Christian
Low demand. That's all it is. Heck, there's contemporary (1960s - present) series of "world coins" that have mintages in the single thousands, even hundreds, that go for incredibly low prices.
Material debasement and products specifically intended for collectors (mintsets) did their own to make normal business strikes rather uninteresting. The French FDC specimen seem to go for a good price for example.
Just because a coin has a low mintage does not automatically make it valuable. The 2 parts that make up what someone would pay for it are desirability (demand) and availability (supply). When you have high supply and low demand, prices are low, because there are a lot available and nobody wants one. When you have low supply and high demand, people will pay boatloads of cash for it because everyone wants one and there are only so many available. The coin you posted may have a low mintage, but if nobody is interested in it, it just won't have a high value.
I know, I thank you all, I've have coins that mintage is in the hundreds, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, you sell or trade in the country of interest, great interest, U.S. none or very little, thanks again.
I lost over $200 in face value currency and coin the last time they devalued. They do it suddenly with little warning so you don't have time to react. I did send $100 to a French coin dealer and asked him to send the nicest thing he could under the circumstances. Suffice to say I probably got about 10c on the dollar. Some of the French moderns are probably dramatically undervalued but demand is extremely thin so supply is unknown. If you google up French brass in BU condition you'll find it's not available in many cases for less than 20 times catalog or more.
There are a lot of relatively modern French coins that are really hard to find. It's a country that I was working on a set on and it is frustrating how many coins just cannot be found, or are only available at very high prices. I completed a modern British set with little trouble but I'll probably never make much progress on France.
As for money being "devalued", that is a question of perspective, I think. Guess the term is used here in the sense of a redemption period coming to an end. Well, for French franc notes, those deadlines were announced ten years in advance. Not exactly "suddenly" in my opinion - YMMV. The very same 10-yr period applied to notes when in January 2002 the franc was replaced by the euro cash - people knew from the beginning that they had until mid-Feb 2012 to get them redeemed. (For coins it was three years.) Such deadlines are not a French peculiarity, by the way. They are pretty normal in many European countries including Finland, Switzerland (no currency changeover involved) or the Netherlands for example. Christian
But why, redemption period, makes no sense, , looking at other currency switch, or switch to euro. to me, makes little sense, this coin , just an example, is still collectible, Good Lord, I wish some of my 1881-1883 had that mintage. Yet I understand, market economy, and that's the way I want it.
Different countries and their governments have different reasons for doing things differently. As I wrote, in many European countries it is pretty normal to replace old bills with new ones (mostly because of new security features) and then phase the old ones out. If such a note is taken out of circulation, you know - at least that was the case with French franc notes - that you have 10 years to turn them in. Elsewhere you even have a little more time; in Switzerland (which has nothing to do with the euro) the redemption period for notes is 20 years. Some other countries in Europe do not have such deadlines but will - even if a coin or note has lost its legal tender status - redeem them "forever". Makes a difference psychologically, but I don't think it affects the question of whether a coin is collectible and sought after or not ... Christian
