Coins of Belgium from 1830 to 1944.

Modern Belgian statehood dates back to 1830, when the state gained independence from the Netherlands after the Belgian Revolution. Up to this point, Belgium had been part of something: the Western Roman Empire, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, France, the Netherlands... That is why, in the territories of Belgium at the beginning of the XIX century, French, Dutch and Austrian coins were in circulation.

 

The first king of Belgium, Leopold I (by the way, Lieutenant General of the Russian Army, who became famous on the battlefields of the Patriotic War of 1812) received from the national congress the right to the Belgian throne in June 1831.

 

 

The young state faced the problem of introducing its own monetary unit. "Guilder" was not considered as a name, and by the law of 05.06.1832, the currency "franc" was introduced, following the example of the French, and equal to it.

 

The first engraver of the Brussels Mint was Pierre-Joseph Braemt (Pierre-Joseph Braemt, 1796-1864).

 

It was he who was the author of the design of the first issue coins.

 

Small copper coins are represented by four denominations: 1, 2, 5 and 10 centimes.

 

Also during his reign, 900 silver coins were issued in denominations of ¼, ½, 1, 2, 5 francs, issued on the model of silver French Louis Philippe coins.

 

Note that the inscriptions on the coins are in French, while in the country most of the population speaks Flemish. Literal translation of the legend "L'Union fait la force" - Unity is power.

 

In 1848, a second line of silver coins was issued in denominations of 20 centimes, ¼, ½, 1, 2, 2 ½, 5 francs, this time without a wreath on the monarch's head, the author of the design of which was the famous Belgian sculptor Leopold Wiener (Léopold Wiener, 1823-1891).

 

In 1860-1861 , Belgium for the first time in world history issued coins from a copper-nickel alloy in denominations of 5, 10 and 20 centimes.

 

After the death of Leopold, his son Leopold II, whose rule caused a lot of controversy among contemporaries, enters the Belgian throne by inheritance. On the one hand, during his reign, Belgium is rapidly developing as an industrial power. On the other hand, the oppression and extermination of the African population in the "Free State of the Congo" owned only by him on the right of private property was the reason for his condemnation by European monarchs and prominent political figures of that time.

 

Following the first coins with a French legend issued in 1865-1866, coins with a Flemish legend first appeared in 1882, which indicates recognition as the state language, in addition to French, also Flemish (Dutch, Dutch). The design of copper 1, 2 centimes and copper-nickel 5, 10 centimes of the first issues repeats the design of the coins of the previous monarch.

 

1 and 2 centimes were produced throughout the reign until 1909, with no design changes.

 

 

In 1901, the piglet lion changed slightly.

 

Then, in 1901-1902, coins of 5 and 10 centimes "with lions" were replaced by coins "with a monogram." The author of the design is another Belgian sculptor and medalist Alphonse Michaux (Alphonse Michaux, 1860-1928).

 

 

Since 1903, the stamp for minting coins 5, 10 centimes has changed. This is noticeable if you pay attention to the size of the numbers of the year.

 

In 1908, for the first time, a new face value for Belgium came into circulation - 25 centimes.

 

During the reign of Leopold II, silver coins were issued with the design of two main types.

 

 

The obverse of the coins of the first type depicts the profile of the monarch, on the reverse - the small Belgian coat of arms.

 

 

Flemish type:

 

 

 

The nephew of Leopold II - Albert I, went down in world history as a hero of the First World War, fiercely resisting the Germans who occupied his country.

Small coins of Albert I are similar to the coins of the forerunner and differ only in the monogram on the obverse.

 

 

World War I also left its mark on the coin history of the Belgian state. The Germans suspended the work of the national bank, the issuance of banknotes stopped, and the German mark became legal tender at that time.

The design of coins of senior denominations was developed specifically for Albert I and has nothing to do with coins of Leopold II. The obverse depicts the profile of the monarch, on the reverse the denomination is framed by a wreath. Designer - sculptor Godefroid Devreese (Godefroid Devreese, 1861-1941)

Like many other states, Belgium after the First World War issued the average denominations of its coins on nickel blanks. The author of the plot is the medalist Armand Bonnetain (Armand Bonnetain, 1883-1973)

After Belgium left the Latin Monetary Union in 1925, in order to stabilize the economy, Belgian Finance Minister Emil Franchi developed a program according to which a new monetary unit was introduced in Belgium - the "belga," equal to 5 francs and tied to the British pound . In the 1930s, nickel 5, 10, 20 francs were even put into circulation, on which the denomination is indicated both in francs and in "Belgians."

 

 

In 1930, Belgium again issued commemorative coins in honor of the 100th anniversary of its independence. This time it is nickel 10 francs in two versions of languages. By tradition, on the obverse are the profiles of the monarchs: Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert.

 

The new currency "belga" did not find support among the population and was canceled in 1946.

 

In 1933, 1934, Belgium returned to silver with the issuance of 20 franc coins.

 

In 1934, after the tragic death of the mountaineer king Albert I, his son, again Leopold, this time III, ascends the throne.

The first Leopold III coin issued was 20 francs minted in 1934-1935. The coin was issued of only one type, with the name of the state simultaneously in French and Flemish. Engraver - Marcel Roux (Marcel Rau, 1886-1966).

 

In 1935, in honor of the World Exhibition held in Brussels and the 100th anniversary of the railways, Belgium issued commemorative coins in denominations of 50 francs in two versions.

 

 

In 1936, the king issued five-franc coins with his profile in two versions.

 

 

In 1938, a completely new line of coins in design came into circulation, although lions are present here too. The design of coins in denominations of 5, 10, 25 centimes from nickel-brass alloy was developed by sculptor Oscar Jespers (Oscar Jespers, 1887-1970), and nickel 1 and 5 francs - Ernest Wijnants (Ernest Wijnants, 1878-1964)

 

In 1939, Belgium issued silver coins in denominations of 50 francs - the last pre-war coins. The reverse depicts the coats of arms of nine Belgian provinces.

The surrender of the king of Belgium in World War II, despite the fact that the king continued to remain in the occupied country all the time, negatively affected the attitude of his subjects towards him, who considered him a collaborator. In general, this can be judged by the coins of this period in the history of Belgium - 5, 10, 25 centimes changed the material, but not the design, on 5 francs the profile of the same Leopold III. Coins are here.