1934 20 Franc holder ?

levinll

This is from a scrapbook of a former WW2 US soldier.

Along with other coins he collected during his service I found this unusual object.

Does anyone know if making a coin holder (for lack of a better definition) was commonplace during WW2, and whether it has any value ?

Thanks !

lordmarcovan

Neat item. Stuff like this, when made from a real coin, is often referred to as a "box" coin, I believe. Commonly done with a big silver coin like a German Thaler (e.g., "box thalers"). When the host coin is an American Trade dollar or other coin associated with the Far East, they're sometimes called " opium dollars" (sic) for the (probably mythical) legend that they were used to smuggle small quantities of illicit drugs.



What we have here is not made from an actual coin, however, but rather something that mimics a contemporary coin design of the period. That doesn't make it worthless, but it does mean it's more a general curio item than a piece of true exonumia. Cool thing, though, and still appealing as a WW2 era collectible.



PS- I have no idea on value. Personally I'd say $15-30, but that's totally random and subjective. You could try web searching for similar pieces by typing some of the inscriptions into search engines like Google. They're slightly different from the actual coin legends- this was probably to avoid getting in trouble with the government.

brg5658

I agree with lordmarcovan. This is a one-off piece likely created using the "repousse" technique, whereas a piece of relatively thin metal is pushed up from the back side into a design.



As lordmarcovan also noted, the legends on your piece differ from those on an authentic 1934 20 Francs. Below is my example of the coin -- notice the similarity in overall design, but the differences from your piece.







I really like your little coin box. It took a lot of skill to make, and it has an inter-war charm about it!! Cool item!

levinll

Thanks for your input. I'll do some more research.