Coins of 5, 10 cents or even the classic one, that of 10 francs, Bastien Mikolajczak sees them passing by every day in his shop. ” Sometimes five or six customers come and drop them off in the same day.“, explains the numismatist expert. At the Comptoir de la Monnaie, not far from the Grand Place in Lille, he is usually deposited in large bags of coins. It’s rare that it’s only one or two pieces, usually it’s bags, jars, boxes that were found after an inheritance, a move, at the bottom of a closet“, he lists. Some have remained hidden since 2002 in the bottom of a drawer, kept as a souvenir. Then, you obviously have to sort them because, in reality, few have value. ” In 95% of cases, these coins have no monetary value. They are negotiated, as in flea markets, by weight: around ten euros per kilo. It’s not a big deal “.
– Marion FERRERE
Pieces that can be bought by the kilo
Francs have more sentimental value. ” These are the coins we were given on Sundays, the 10-franc coin to buy sweets… Of course, we have collectors, numismatists, who come to buy them from us, who are looking for specific specimens, but we also requests for gifts: people who want to offer a piece related to the year of birth for example “. And this can be acquired for a few cents. ” We still sell them more by the kilo and there’s no point in remelting them, it’s nickel “, adds the expert.
– Marion FERRERE
Gold or silver coins can be traded at a better price
If the francs, the official currency of the country from 1795 to 2002, have so little value, it is because they were minted in “fat “. “Sometimes in several hundreds of millions of copies, it is a circulation currency“, adds Bastien Mikolajczak. There are obviously some copies that are more valuable than others. Gold or silver coins, for example, which follow the price of the metal. The gold Napoleon of 20 francs is highly sought after, for example. Closer to us, the penny coin ears minted in 1991, which, due to its rarity, can be negotiated between 100 and 1000 euros!