Why are French 20 franc coins so hard to find?

MadMuffin

I have always liked the French trimetal 20 franc coins but for some reason they seem very hard to find. I have a single one in my collection that I picked out of circulation on a trip to France a few years ago. Now I am looking for them on Ebay but they are almost never offered. A couple of months ago there was a full type set from 5 centimes to 20 francs but it sold at $180

Are the French hoarding these coins or have they been withdrawn and melted? Millions were made of them (according to Krause) so they shouldn't be that hard to find!

Marcel

Aethelred

I was shocked a few months ago when I sold a French FDC set on eBay, it sold for about 5x what I thought it would!

Philip

I don't have any either, whereas the minors up to 20 Centimes are almost done.

GDJMSP

Awwww c'mon now guys - nobody likes French coins. You can find the things almost everywhere - they're practically giving them away. I suspect it is only a vicious rumor that people would actually PAY for them

Especially those old gold ones

spoon

Are you talking about the Mont Saint Michel one? (I don't know if there are others)

That is a really nice one. I only have one myself and I got it the same way you got yours

I don't know why they would be hard to find. Maybe they're just ignored and considered too cheap to try selling online? (Are they cheap? I have no Krause.) Maybe you could try stumbling through some French sellers' websites? Good luck on finding more!

MadMuffin

The Mont St. Michel type is just one of them. I don't have my Krause at hand, but I think there are three or four different types. Some of them are made in large numbers for circulation, others in more limited numbers as circulating commems. The catalog value is relatively high - around 9 dollars I think.

You are right, spoon - the next step would be a French coin dealer. Or perhaps ebay.fr - haven't tried that one yet. I just have a feeling that if these coins are hard to find outside of France the price in France is not going to be one that I like...

Marcel

MadMuffin

Just did a search on Ebay.fr and yes, they are available. At a price.

The common Mont St. Michel type is offered at 22 euros in UNC (about 20 dollars).

A 1999 20 franc (type unkown), also UNC, is offered at 28 euros (about 25 dollars).

One auction mentions that the catalog value of the coin is 30 euros.

Pretty expensive stuff... no wonder they are not offered worldwide. Not many international customers would pay that much.

Marcel

pine79

so what would a 1896 20 franc coin be worth?

MadMuffin

pine79, welcome to the forum!

The ironic thing is that the gold 20 francs are a lot easier to find than the base metal coins that circulated until the euro arrived. The 1896 20 francs is a fairly common coin. The catalog value is around $100 in my 1995 catalog... probably not much more by now. The coin has a mintage of 5.3 million.

Marcel

Sylvestius

I had no idea that they had ever done non-gold 20 francs... so when i read you'd picked one up in circulation i thought...


I was gonna say i have seen quite a few gold ones over the years.

spoon

Wow! Those prices are absurd.. but then again, considering the supply?? Man, I would've never guessed these would cost that much. I'll have to mention them next time I talk to my French relatives

Well, again, good luck on your search. Maybe someday you'll stumble upon a seller who doesn't have a price guide