France 5, 10, and 20 Francs 1852 to 1869

Nice coin, Helene -- To find the value of your old 20 franc coin from France, first compute its base value due to gold content. Look up the value of gold per troy ounce on a web site such as kitco.com. Then multiply that value by the amount of gold in your coin, as follows:

5 FRANCS: 0.047 troy ounces gold
10 FRANCS: 0.093 ounces
20 FRANCS: 0.187 ounces

For instance, at the time of this writing, gold is running $1105 US dollars per troy ounce. Tomorrow it will be different, so be sure to look it up. The base value of your a 20 franc coin is then 0.1867 x 1105 = $206.

A worn or damaged coin will be worth the gold content alone. A coin in excellent condition will be worth more due to collector appeal:

5 FRANCS
circulated: add $0
fully uncirculated: add $100

10 FRANCS
circulated: add $0
fully uncirculated: add $300
10 francs dated 1861A and 1861BB, double the added value

20 FRANCS
circulated: add $0
fully uncirculated: add $150
20 francs dated 1855D, double the added value
20 francs dated 1854A, 1859BB, divide the added value in half
20 francs with BB mint mark between 1860 and 1870, divide the added value in half

For similar gold coins with a drapery design instead of the wreath on the back, click to this CoinQuest page.
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