The seeds could show visible signs of damage, such as discoloration, swelling, cracked seed coats, and wrinkling... or they could appear normal.

Bean seed, like most seed, can be frozen safely... but only if it has been dried to a safe (low) moisture level. Any pods which were not dry before the freeze should be considered to be bad. Even for pods which appeared to be dry, if the seeds within were not fully dry (which is likely) chances are they are damaged as well. Pods which had dried completely might be OK... but I have the same Fall weather pattern as you, and we have had a lot of rain this year (see the other bean post from Michigan).

If you still have any good seed, or if the variety is commercially available, it might not be worth the trouble to try saving the frozen seed. If you choose to do so, some of it might be good; but only a germination test could tell for sure. Better to test the seed early, to avoid disappointment next year.

Thanks for the advice. Yes, weather this fall has been even wetter than normal and colder, too. I was waiting for drier and warmer weather to do some garden chores. It's to the point now that I better do it in snowpants and a raincoat if this week doesn't have some dry days.

I think the bean crop in question is headed for the soup pot very soon. Most is not looking very good and I can buy more easily.

My Ma Williams, Rattlesnake, and Romano got one night of frost. It seems that in pods which are still green, water cells can expand and break, leaving the pods looking limp and watery like they had been steamed. Some of the Ma Williams and nearly all of the Rattlesnake were like this, but not a single Romano was affected. The Romano were all green, so also a good choice for snap bean, and they looked the same after the frost as before it. The dried brown pods of Ma Williams and Rattlesnake were unaffected.

Insuks Wang Kong and Birds Egg #3 also had this watery limp pod after two nights of frost. I got maybe 5 good dried seeds from the only Insuks pods that were brown/dried. All the rest and all of the Birds Egg are probably ruined. I opened some full pods and saw that the skin of the beans was also frost burned. I'll dry some of them and try to plant in spring, and will try drying the rest in the pods, but it seems likely that even if the beans germinate, the cotyledons may be deformed.

I'm leaving the Insuks roots in the ground for the winter, covered in pine straw, to see what happens.

Nice info - am looking for this thanks