Gold Bullion Spotlight: French Rooster Gold 10 And 20 Francs

PCGS - Two popular gold bullion coins issued for circulation are the French 10 Francs and 20 Francs gold issues. These coins were issued for circulation in France from 1899 through 1914 and are mainstays with both coin collectors and bullion stackers alike.


France 1912 Gold 20 Francs Gad-1064a PCGS MS66+

The mass appeal of these coins is from the timeless design of Jule-Clement Chaplin. The obverse features Marianne, the French female allegory of Liberty, and the reverse depicts the Gallic Rooster, once used as a religious symbol that became a symbol of hope and faith. The 20 Francs coin weighs in at 6.4516 grams of 0.900 fine gold and has an actual gold weight of 0.1867 ounces. Meanwhile, the 10 Francs weighs half of that, at 3.2258g of 0.900 fine gold and an actual gold weight of 0.0933 ounces. These coins were struck at the Paris Mint in France, a well-established government mint with a high standard for quality. The series is relatively easy to collect, with the exceptions of proof and pattern issues. For issues struck for circulation only, pieces of high Gem quality fall into numismatic pricing territory and are often too scarce and expensive to be traded on their bullion merits alone.

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