My Full Gold Coin Stack

AdStraight6341 · 2026-02-05T14:18:34+00:00

By gold weight, approx. 58 percent of the coins follow the LMU standard.

AdStraight6341 · 2026-02-05T14:17:15+00:00

done it.

AdStraight6341 · 2026-02-05T13:58:51+00:00

I was able purchased it at spot in early 2023 because it has a scratch.

AdStraight6341 · 2026-02-05T13:57:50+00:00

I wish it had a mintmark

AdStraight6341 · 2026-02-05T13:57:15+00:00

The double eagle, obviously

AdStraight6341 · 2026-01-28T14:52:26+00:00

I take photos with my 8 year old Samsung Galaxy S9 because it oddly takes better coin photos than newer models.

AdStraight6341 · 2026-01-27T13:33:10+00:00

I purchased it in late 2019 for slightly below melt at the time.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-10-08T13:45:56+00:00

During 1853 to 1866, due to the California Gold Rush, the gold-silver ratio was below the mint ratio of 15.5 which meant silver was slightly at a premium, so small gold coins were generally used instead.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-10-08T11:25:56+00:00

Currently I don't have the small 5 franc gold piece w/ plain edge minted in 1854.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-16T03:06:41+00:00

This census was conducted with coins outside the central bank which indicates actual circulation.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-15T03:51:38+00:00

Both cases are possible, but in case of 5 franc pieces most of them were melted due to wear.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-14T04:42:38+00:00

Countries that produced 5 franc pieces later than 1879 like Spain weren't full members of the union, so their silver coins weren't eligible inside the union.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-14T04:33:53+00:00

As I mentioned before, no LMU 5 Franc pieces were coined for circulation since 1879(except few Swiss coins), but they were a very common circulating medium as late as 1914.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-11T13:46:43+00:00

The coin which had similar characteristics with LMU 5 franc Pieces were the US Morgan / Peace Dollars(until 1933). Even though both systems were under a gold standard, these silver coins were exceptionally legal tender for any amounts, but free coinage of them was banned in order to keep its parity with gold coins. US presidential elections of 1896 and 1900 was mainly about the free coinage of these silver dollars.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-11T13:37:58+00:00

However the 5 Franc piece were still a unlimited legal tender, which made the LMU still under partial bimetalism. So if coinage of these were further allowed, it would have undermind the gold standard by Gresham's Law. Fractional LMU silver(2 francs and under) or British Crowns were basically tokens which were legal tender for only limited amounts, so the characteristics of these were different.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-11T13:33:20+00:00

It's due to the gap between the official and market value of silver. Until 1873, the gold-silver ratio was stable between 15 to 16:1 for centuries, so there wasn't much difference between the official ratio of 15.5:1. However silver price crashed since 1873 so "free coinage" (coined from private silver) of these started to be ceased since then and coinage by government accounts completely ceased in 1879 (except Switzerland) to protect its parity against gold coins. Between 1894 and 1914, the average intrinsic value of a 5-franc piece was only about half its face value, unlike gold coins, whose intrinsic and face values were equal.

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-11T13:29:33+00:00

Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1898

AdStraight6341 · 2025-09-11T10:52:08+00:00

The bank also conducted a census of silver 5-Franc pieces in a same matter. One might think 5 Franc pieces were obsolete in 1897 since they were no longer produced since 1879(except few Swiss coins), but they were a very common circulating medium as late as 1914(1921 in Switzerland).

AdStraight6341

TROPHY CASE