Rather interested in this medal. Can anyone give me any advise? Thank You! http://cgi.ebay.com/France-Silver-N...goryZ539QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
What is the price from the French mint, I know that the grade would be higher, or dealers of mints from around the world? It seems to me very high for a VF coin without even looking up the weight or price of an AUC or UC coin from the mint.
Thanks Andy, I'm not really sure of a comparable price. It's an 1804 original mint and starting bid is $185.00. First one i've seen. I'm not aware of a pricing guide from the french mint something i've missed?
I'm sorry I read thru the posting to fast and thought it might be one of the series of Napoleon medals/coins that the French Mint has been producing recently. I know nothing of Silver medals however I did see http://www.christophereimer.co.uk/single/8674.html selling the same medal that you posted. Perhaps if you e-mail him for his price you can start to get an ideal of a good price for the medal.
Historical importance aside, the medal picture appears to have been dinged/dropped pretty hard a few times by the looks of it (look above the front and back of Napoleons head and again over the MP of empereur).
For what it is worth, I check out ebay france nearly everyday, and I've come across that particular medal on a number of occasions....always at a value significantly less than the current asking price. One thing you have to be very careful of is official re-strikes. These were struck using original dies (still held by La Monnaie) and the only thing that differentiates them from the originals is a small edge mark (called a poincon...pronounced pwansson). If the medal has an edge mark, it is NOT original. If it does, dependfent on what the mark actually is, you can determine the time period in which it was minted . I personally wouldn't bid on that particular medal at anywhere near that price. If I were ever to change my position on that, then before placing any bid I would ask the seller to check the edge of the coin with a magnifying glass and tell me what (if anything) has been incused into it. Anything other than a plain mirror edge would suggest a re-strike. Finally, it might very well be original, but as another poster has commented, it carries its fair share of hefty edge knocks. Enough to ensure that its value is somewhat below the sellers perception (IMHO). Ian
