I have this France 10 Francs 1862A in silver, not in gold as it should be. http://www.avscoins.com/showcoin.php?cat=France%20(before%201900)&id=FR-6 I could not find traces of gold plating on it, thus I doubt that it was intended to be used in circulation as a fake of a gold coin. It is also only 1,45 g, which is less than a half of the weight of the gold coin. Krause does not list an off-metal strike in silver, only in gilt bronze. What could this be?
Well, we know what it isn't........it isn't a genuine 10 francs. I'd also be very surprised if your one was silver either. More likely some kind of amalgam of lead / zinc / nickel or similar. PS i've got one just like it (but dated 1867) which, like yours, shows traces of having been gilded at one stage. I was going to post it on the `contemporary counterfeits' thread at some point. Whatever else it may be, it sure isn't the real thing either
Andrey5,it looks like a lead forgery,because of its colour.If it is genuinely silver,then it is an unlisted off-metal strike.If it was a pattern coin,it would have the letter 'E' placed somewhere on the coin,or have the word 'ESSAI' spelt out in full. Aidan.
Ian: Thanks for your pictures of the 1867 piece. It looks very much like mine. I also compared mine with French silver of the time and tend to agree with your opinion about my sample being not from silver, but rather from "some kind of amalgam of lead / zinc / or similar". It should be a contemporary counterfeit which lost its gold plating due to circulation and cleaning.
