Expert: Brad Swain - 12/21/2009

Question
Dear Brad,

Could you please give me some information on a 1975 50 franc coin including the estimated value. It has two women holding hands flanking "Hercules," with the incription Liberte Egalite Fraternite.  Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.  

Answer
Hi Cathy, There were 4.6 million of these French 50 Francs minted that year in Paris featuring Augustin Dupré's famous Hercules design. Engraved in the popular neo-classical style of the day inspired by republican Rome, this was Dupré's masterpiece. Hercules, long a symbol in art of strength, courage and endurance, was the ideal personification of Fraternity. Wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion which, in the legend of the twelve tasks, granted him the gift of invulnerability, he is flanked on either side by the allegorical figures in female form of Liberty and Equality on whose shoulders he rests his hands in a fraternal embrace. The motto of the Republic had found its pictorial representation on a medium which would now be seen by all citizens of France. Liberty, on Hercules' right, is shown holding a spear surmounted by a Phrygian cap - a symbol of liberty since Roman times when it was worn by emancipated slaves as a mark of their freedom (it was revived by the Revolutionaries as "the red cap of liberty"). On Hercules' other side stands Equality, holding a builder's level. The female figures are depicted clasping each others hands, completing the bond between the three concepts of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in a perfection of symmetry.
This coin should weigh 30.0 grams and would contain .8680 of an ounce of silver. Collector value may be worth about $15 to $20 depending on amount of wear and collector demand.
Current gold and silver values: http://www.kitco.com/market/ .
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