France strikes €5,000 gold coin

FRANCE has struck gold with a new €5,000 gold coin that has just gone on sale - it has already sold out on the internet.

The 75g gold Hercules coin - with a figure of Hercules on the front and the reverse featuring a garland of oak and laurel branches, the coin value and the République Française text - is now available on pre-order only from the Monnaie de Paris mint.

Its face value is €5,000 but prices for previous issues have soared, with the €5 La Semeuse 2012 already selling for €62 and the €100 La Semeuse 2011 priced at €1,050.

The financial crisis has seen the price of gold rocket and today it is worth $1,724 per oz. The new Hercules 2012 weighs 75g (2.41 troy ounces) and is in .999 fine gold. Its diameter is 45mm.

It is one of the Eurozone's largest legal tender denomination gold coins and 2,000 coins will be available.

If the €5,000 coin is too heavy for your pocket the Monnaie de Paris also has the silver €100 which weighs 50g and has an identical design. It is slightly larger at 47mm and 50,000 will be minted.

* Tonight's Euro-Millions jackpot is €168 million after 12 consecutive draws without a winner. It could be lucky 13th November for someone little more than a year after a Calvados family won €162m in the September 13 draw in 2011.
Photo: Monnaie de Paris