Expert: Brad Swain - 12/13/2009

Question
my dad recently passed and was a ww2 vet, amongst his things he had money from other countries. i would like to know their worth.  silver 1943 franc with travail famille patrie on the back,a coin that has 2 shillings on back from 1939,two coins are the size of half dollars but says its a penny on the back with georgivs v dei grabrittomn rex fid def ind imp inscribed on the back.

Answer
Hi Heather, I am sorry for your loss!
Collector value of a coin depends on denomination (face value), date, mint mark (if any), number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning as well as collector demand for it.
France aluminum 1943 1 Franc with 'Work, Family, Patriotism', collector value may be worth about .10 with heavy wear to around .25 with moderate wear to maybe $1 with light wear if there is no mintmark letter to the left of the axe.
Great Britain 2 shillings 1939, 50% silver (.1818 of an ounce of silver), King George VI (1936-52), $3, $4, $5 in same conditions of wear as listed above.
two Great Britain 1 penny coins, King George V (1910-36), have to know the dates before a value can be estimated. The abbreviated Latin legend stands for 'By the Grace of God, Ruler and King of Britain, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India'.
World coin pictures may be found here: http://worldcoingallery.com/index.htm ,
http://www.coinarchives.com/ , and http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis.jsp .
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad