In the accumulation I have been going through, there are a number of French 5 Franc silver coins from the 1800's, from Louis Phillipe to the Third Republic. None are in great condition, maybe F-VF. The Catolog that I have puts these (common dates & mints) at below melt (with melt @ 30$ an ounce), but it is an older (2003?) version. In general, are these worth melt or are the worth trying to sell to a specialist, and will I get more than melt for them (or are they like common date morgans, which I would only get melt). Thanks
The coins are fairly common, and in lower grades never amounted to much value wise. With silver so high today melt is probably as good as you could expect. Even in MS65 with attractive toning I used to be able to acquire examples like these (see below) for around $150 about 5 years ago. There are some few date/mint examples that are of greater value but it's pretty unlikely to ever run across one of them.
Thanks Doug: I specificly checked Standard Catalog of World Coins for any rare dates, of which there were none from what I had. Like the toning on yours, the ones I have aren't even close.
I've seen several demi-francs from this time period in local dealer's melt bins. I'm happy to buy them at that price, but I don't think they trade at a premium over silver (at least not now, while silver is sky high).
nice coin siberian man but i really wanted to see the one for sale by inquisitive, yours looks in about the same condition as mine and as always i am looking for better grades.
we all want the best availlable, i once had a very worn napoleon 1809 10 cent coin for six years until i found a VF example.
Something you need to understand about this forum it seems - we have rules that forbid any posts that contain offers to buy, sell, or trade. Any and all such offending posts will be either deleted or edited out. And the ones making such posts are also subject to consequences for doing so. Please go read the forum rules and familiarize yourself with them.
I have this proof pattern 5-franc coin from 1848 -- any additional information on why it was made would be welcome.
Here's mine: France 5 Francs 1831-D (Lyon) Louis Philippe I I have had it since the 1960's and it is Not for sale
Wow, beautiful! Sorry I have no information and can be of no help with this pattern, but it sure is a beautiful portrait of a female on the obverse, and a beautiful looking coin all around. Very pretty.
The French called them essais. It was made for the same basic reason that any pattern is ever made - as ideas for a new coin design. I used to have quite a few of them of various denominations and metals. Many are quite beautiful. This was always one of my favorites -