Foreign Nickel

[jerry278]

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you guys know that there are a lot of other foreign coins which are .999 nickel (besides the obvious canadian). One coin in particular that comes to mind is the 'Nouveau' French franc. the 1/2 franc, 1 franc and 2 franc are all .999 nickel and pretty large coins at that. These have been out of circulation since the introduction of the euro.

[uthminsta]

Good call. What range of years were those?

[aloneibreak]

1/2 franc 1965 - euro

1 franc 1960 - euro

2 franc 1979 - euro

ive been stacking those for years now...

ive got more of those than beaver nicks...

[uthminsta]

so how much do they each weigh? and didn't we have a thread like this on the old site? a list of some of the more common pure nickel coins and their weights?

[aloneibreak]

http://realcent.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15946

http://realcent.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=879

[AGgressive Metal]

I wrote a short thread on this as well:

http://www.realcent.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=176

[jerry278]

Thanks for the info AGressive Metal. Yeah the 'Nouveau' francs are really nice but are hard to find. I think they can be cheaper then their canadian counterparts in some scenarios.

[Pennysaved]

I always find French Francs going through the junk bin at the local coin store; nice way to pick up nickel for cheap

[Cerulean]

ALBANIA
¼ lek 1926-27
½ lek 1926-31
1 lek 1926-31
ALGERIA
5 dinars 1972-84
ANGOLA
50 centavos 1922-23
20 escudos 1971-72
ARGENTINA
50 centavos 1941
AUSTRIA
10 heller 1892-1911
20 heller 1892-1914
BAHAMAS
25 cents 1966-89
BELGIUM
50 centimes 1922-34
1 franc 1922-40
10 francs 1969-85
50 francs 1987-2001
BRAZIL
50 centavos 1967
CAMEROON
100 francs 1971-72
CANADA
5 cents (100%) 1922-42
5 cents (100%) 1946-50
5 cents (100%) 1955-81
10 cents (100%) 1968-2000
25 cents (100%) 1968-2000
50 cents (100%) 1968-2000
1 dollar (100%) 1968-86
2 dollars (ring) (99%) 1996-present
CENTRAL AFRICAN STATES
50 francs 1961
100 francs 1966-71
COMOROS
25 francs 1981-90
50 francs 1975-90
100 francs 1977-90
ECUADOR
2.5 centavos 1928
5 centavos 1928-37
10 centavos 1928-37
20 centavos 1937
1 sucre 1937-46
EL SALVADOR
25 centavos 1970-77
50 centavos 1970-77
FRANCE
25 centimes 1903-17
5 francs 1933-38
½ franc 1965-2001
1 franc 1960-2001
2 francs 1979-2001
5 francs 1970-2001
10 francs (core) 1988-2001
20 francs (core) 1992-2001
FRENCH POLYNESIA
10 francs 1967-present
20 francs 1967-present
50 francs 1967-present
GERMANY (EMPIRE)
25 pfennig 1909-12
GERMANY (REICH)
50 reichspfennig 1927-39
1 reichsmark 1933-39
GERMANY (FEDERAL)
2 marks (plated) 1969-2001
GREECE
5 lepta 1912
10 lepta 1912
5 drachmai 1930
HONG KONG
10 cents 1937
HUNGARY
10 filler 1892-1914
20 filler 1892-1914
5 forint 1971-83
10 forint 1981-83
INDIA (BRITISH)
¼ rupee 1946-47
½ rupee 1946-47
1 rupee 1947
INDIA (REPUBLIC)
¼ rupee 1950-56
½ rupee 1950-56
1 rupee 1950-54
25 paise 1957-63
50 paise 1960-71
1 rupee 1962-74
IRAQ
4 fils 1931-39
10 fils 1931-38
250 fils 1970-73
500 fils 1971-82
1 dinar 1980-82
IRELAND
3 pence 1928-40
6 pence 1928-40
ITALY
20 centesimi 1908-38
25 centesimi 1902-03
50 centesimi 1919-38
1 lire 1922-38
2 lire 1922-39
JAPAN
10 sen 1933-37
50 yen 1955-75
LATVIA
10 santimu 1922
20 santimu 1922
50 santimu 1922
LEBANON
50 piastres 1968-80
1 livre 1968-81
LUXEMBOURG
1 franc 1924-35
2 francs 1924
10 francs 1971-80
50 francs 1987-91
MACAU
1 pataca 1968-75
MADAGASCAR
10 ariary 1978
20 ariary 1978
MALAWI
20 tambala 1996-2003
MALTA
1 lira 1986-2007
MEXICO
5 centavos 1905-14
MOROCCO
50 centimes 1921-24
1 franc 1921-24
NETHERLANDS
5 cents 1907-09
10 cents 1948-2001
25 cents 1948-2001
1 gulden 1967-2001
2.5 gulden 1969-2001
5 gulden (plated) 1987-2001
NETH. ANTILLES
10 cents 1970-85
25 cents 1970-85
1 gulden 1970-85
2.5 gulden 1978-85
PAKISTAN
¼ rupee 1948-51
½ rupee 1948-51
1 rupee 1948-49
25 paise 1963-67
50 paise 1963-69
PHILIPPINES
10 pisos 1988
POLAND
10 grosze 1923
20 grosze 1923
50 grosze 1923
1 zloty 1929
20 grosze 1949
SLOVAKIA
5 korun 1939
SOUTH AFRICA
5 cents 1965-89
10 cents 1965-89
20 cents 1965-90
50 cents 1965-90
1 rand 1977-90
SPAIN
5 pesetas 1949
SWEDEN
5 kroner (plated) 1972-present
SWITZERLAND
5 rappen 1932-41
10 rappen 1932-39
20 rappen 1881-1938
SYRIA
25 qirsha 1968-76
50 qirsha 1968-76
1 pound 1968-76
THAILAND
5 satang 1908-37
10 satang 1908-39
TUNISIA
½ dinar 1968
TURKEY (OTTOMAN)
5 para 1909
10 para 1909
20 para 1909
40 para 1909
TURKEY
25 kurus 1926-28
VENEZUELA
25 centimos 1965-87
50 centimos 1965-85
1 bolivar 1967-86
2 bolivares 1967-88
5 bolivares 1973-88
1 bolivar (core) 2007-present
WEST AFRICAN STATES
100 francs 1967-2005
YUGOSLAVIA
10 dinara 1938

[NiBullionCu]

Great list Cerulean!

One correction, France 5 francs 1970-2001 is Nickel-clad-CuNi

Numismaster online has this incorrectly listed as Nickel.
(I've reported the error months ago, but they seem pretty slow on updating reported errors).

the older Krause catalogs have it correct. In hand you can tell the difference as this coin is only lightly magnetic compared to pure nickel.

Otherwise superb list!

[theo]

This thread should be made into a sticky.

[Mossy]

Maybe a reference section for things like this?

[cwgii]

dang, i just went through my 'odds' jar. and turned in all my non ni beavers and the rest of my canadians. all the machine rejected was a 2007 dime and 2005 quarter.

[frugalcanuck]

We should take into account US$ face value costs of foreign Ni with exchange rates taken into account. Im in Canada so I can get lots on Ni coins but their face value and weight makes Ni nickels far better. I still have lots of Ni dollars, 50 cent, quarters, and dimes but Im not actively obtaining them.

[uthminsta]

SHOULD BE STICKIED!!!

[uthminsta]

well, thank you!
I have thousands of world coins on my dining room table and the living room coffee table... going through what is essentially the local shop's complete accumulation of world coins... I want to make a "1 pound of pure nickel" package for them to sell. See what the market is for that. Would you buy that? What would you pay?

[currencydebasement]

The only source on purity for french francs indicated 98% nickel. I have not been able to find a gov't source yet. Most of the Italian nickel is also less than 99% purity.

[uthminsta]

Oh, oops. I will just make sure it's a little over a pound total weight, and assume it's in the 95% range. You seem like the person to ask: is the list above a pretty complete listing of the most common nickel coins, or are there others that are easily found in dealer junk boxes?

[currencydebasement]

Yes, the list looks comprehensive. I just found a statute regading the Nickel French 2 francs, the coins have a minimum nickel content of 98%. I assume that applies to the 1 and .50 franc coins.

My experience is that the french and dutch coins are very common.

[NiBullionCu]

Greetings,

I emailed the French mint in 2007 to inquire on the Ni purity.

following is a copy of the email response:

I have received a reply from the French mint.

The nickel coins are indeed .999 pure nickel.

Here is the email request and reply:

To: <musee@monnaiedeparis.fr>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:54 PM
Subject: Franc Français 1960 - 2001


Salutations,
J'essaye de trouver la pureté du nickel employée pour frapper le franc français de 1960 jusqu'en 2001.


Était-ce nickel fin de 999?
Ou une autre pureté ?
Merci à l'avance de votre temps (et de mon mauvais Français).


Greetings,
I am trying to find the purity of nickel used to strike the French Franc from 1960 until 2001.
Was it .999 fine nickel?
Or some other purity?

Thanks in advance for your time (and my bad French).

Sent : Tuesday, April 24, 2007 3:46 AM
To : <NiBullionCu>
Subject : Re: Franc Français 1960 - 2001


Bonjour,
Les pièces de un franc (1 nouveau franc) sont bien en nickel pur, effectivement à un titre proche de 999/1000èmes pour un poids légal de 6 grammes et un diamètre (module) de 24 mm.
Cordialement, J. INDRIGO


babelfish translation of answer:

Hello, The parts of a frank (1 new frank) are well out of pure nickel, indeed with a title close to 999/1000èmes for a legal weight of 6 grams and a diameter (module) of 24 MM Cordialement, J INDRIGO

So I believe we now have confirmation on the purity of the french nickel coins.

[NiBullionCu]

OK, I found my copy of the "World Coinage Report 1980 - 1984" produced by the US mint.

Here is a scan of the page for France:

http://personalpages.chorus.net/cartoilluminati/Images/WorldCoinageReport-France.jpeg

(Sorry, image was too large to imbed)

Note that they called it 100% Ni

[currencydebasement]

Here is a snippet from a pdf of the actual statute announcing the composition of the 2 franc coin. I am not sure about that world coinage report. It looks like it says the 5 franc coin is a Ni core with a CuNi plate, it is the opposite.

As you can see the nominal composition is "Nickel pur" but the minimal purity is 98%. I guess it's up to the individual on how they take that. Personally, if I know a coin officially is required to only have 98% nickel, I don't call it 99.9%. Those are my worthless two cents.

[uthminsta]

With stuff like this, 98% would be what I would call "pure enough." Thanks for the heads up.

[currencydebasement]

Yeah, everything has a tolerance. I'd like to find the actual regs for Canadian nickels, I wonder what their tolerance is. I figure some countries may have tighter tolerances.

[currencydebasement]

I have an Algerian regulation that has a minimum nickel content of 99.7% for their 5 Dinar coins minted in 1972 and 1974. So not all "pure nickel" coins are made with the same tolerance.