(57) A photographic silver halide emulsion is disclosed comprised of radiation sensitive composite silver halide grains including host grain portions accounting for at least 50 percent of total silver and surface portions epitaxially deposited on the host grain portions. The epitaxially deposited surface portions on the host grain portions exhibit a face centered cubic crystal lattice structure containing a hexacoordination complex of a metal from periods 4, 5 and 6 of groups 3 to 14 inclusive of the periodic table of elements in which one or more organic ligands each containing at least one carbon-to-carbon bond, at least one carbon-to-hydrogen bond or at least one carbon-to-nitrogen-to-hydrogen bond sequence occupy up to half the metal coordination sites in the coordination complex and at least half of the metal coordination sites in the coordination complex are provided by halogen or pseudohalogen ligands.