France 20 and 40 Francs 1806 to 1813

These nice gold coins bear inscriptions NAPOLEON EMPEREUR and EMPIRE FRANCAIS or REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE with a wreath on the back and sometimes with laurel leaves around Napoleon's head. All these coins are valuable because they contain gold, as follows:

20 FRANCS: 0.1867 troy ounces gold
40 FRANCS: 0.3734 troy ounces

You can compute the base value (BV) of the coin by multiplying the weight of gold by the current price of gold. The price changes every day, so you must do the calculation afresh. On the day of this appraisal, gold was selling at $1470 US dollars per troy ounce, so the BV for a 20 france coin was 0.1867 x 1470 = 275.

But these coins are more valuable than the base value, especially when they are in good condition. Here are some typical additions to BV for these coins (be sure to read modifiers below):

20 FRANCS
worn: BV + $0
average circulated: BV + $50
well preserved: BV + $600
fully uncirculated: BV + $1500

40 FRANCS
worn: BV + $0
average circulated: BV + $100
well preserved: BV + $800
fully uncirculated: BV + $2400

Sometimes the specific date and mint mark on the coin makes a big difference in value. If your coin appears in the lists below, modify the value added to the base value appropriately.

COMMON DATES 20 FRANCS (reduce addition by one-half)
1808M
1809A
1810A
1811A
1812A
1813A
1814A
1812L
1813L
1812M
1811U
1812U
1809W
1810W
1811W
1812W
1813W
1814W

RARE DATES 20 FRANCS (increase addition by twice value)
1808U
1809H
1809K
1810K
1811K
1812K
1813K
1809L
1812L
1813L
1809M
1810M
1811M
1812M
1812Q
1813Q
1810U
1811U
1813U
1813 with tiny flag mint mark

COMMON DATES 40 FRANCS (reduce addition by one-half)
1806A
1807A
1808A
1811A
1812A
1813A
1810W
1812W

RARE DATES 40 FRANCS (increase addition by twice value)
1806I
1806U
1807M
1807A
1808H
1811K
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