France 20 Centimes 1853 to 1862

Since you say your coin is 'well preserved,' you have a valuable coin. This short series lasted only from 1853 to 1862 and was never minted heavily. Now, a century and a half later, there are hardly any more of these coins left, especially in good condition.

The coin in our picture comes from one of our favorite French dealers, 123 Numismatique (Alain Cheilan) in Toulon. CoinQuest thanks Alain Cheilan for use of their coin image.

For most of the dates in the series, here is how the catalog values play out:

worn: $10 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $25
well preserved: $80
fully uncirculated: $220

Use our Important Terminology page to convert these catalog values to actual buy and sell values.

There are a number of *good dates* and *good mint marks* in the series. Here is a list of them, showing the catalog value for a coin in average circulated condition. Coins in well preserved condition will be worth a lot more.

1853A small head: $40
1853A large head: $350
1856BB: $500
1862A: $275

We are unfamiliar with the 'small head' and 'large head' varieties in the 1853 coin. However, if the person who submitted this request can send us a clear image of the coin, we might be able to find out for this particular case.
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