Belgian franc: from 1948 until the euro

Started by <k>, April 08, 2019, 08:56:35 PM

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<k>

#30


The obverse of the French language version.
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<k>

#31



A 10 francs coin was introduced in 1969.

It was made of nickel and were 27 mm in diameter.


The common reverse depicted King Baudouin.

The surname of the engraver, Harry Elstrøm, is visible in the exergue.


The coins were only struck until 1979.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#32


The Dutch language version of the obverse.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#33


The French language version of the obverse.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

Please post any comments about the story so far. I will have a rest then continue later.

I am interested in why the Belgians switched from a 20 centimes to a 25 centimes coin.
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chrisild

The use of languages on the Belgian pre-euro coins is somewhat strange. :)  The country is officially trilingual (with German being a regional minority language), but French has always dominated the franc coins. Even the Dutch versions of the centime coins would say "centime(s)" only, not "centiem(en)", and German was not really used on coins anyway in those days. As for the switch from the 20c back to 25c, I am not sure ... Maybe because Luxembourg (BE and LU had a monetary union) also had a 25c coin?

Christian

<k>

Quote from: chrisild on April 09, 2019, 02:24:23 PM
As for the switch from the 20c back to 25c, I am not sure ... Maybe because Luxembourg (BE and LU had a monetary union) also had a 25c coin?

Yes, that's a possibility. Of course, the US also had a 'quarter', so maybe treacherous Belgium already had plans for world domination.  >:(  Scandalous. It's surely not too late to expel Belgium from the EU because of this. Why should my country should be the only one getting expelled?  :o
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Big_M

Quote from: <k> on April 09, 2019, 11:25:22 AM

I am interested in why the Belgians switched from a 20 centimes to a 25 centimes coin.

Inflation. 25 as the smallest value coin, fits into the logic with 50 as the next value. Combinations of 20 and 50 would be more difficult. I recall Denmark also had for a while 25 ore as the smallest value as well.

<k>

Quote from: Big_M on April 09, 2019, 03:23:54 PM
Inflation. 25 as the smallest value coin, fits into the logic with 50 as the next value. Combinations of 20 and 50 would be more difficult. I recall Denmark also had for a while 25 ore as the smallest value as well.

Did you read that somewhere? 20 and 25 denominations both have their advantages and disadvantages, so it seems to me like an unlikely reason.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#39



A nickel-bronze 20 francs was issued in 1980.

It was 25.65 mm in diameter.


The common reverse featured a portrait of King Baudouin.

The surname of the engraver, Harry Elstrøm, again appeared in the exergue.

It was flanked by the mint mark and the privy mark.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#40



The obverse featured a stylised olive branch.

Above you see the Dutch language version.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#41


Above you see the French language version.
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See: The Royal Mint Museum.

Figleaf

Big-M is quite right. A 25 minor fits in with being the lowest denomination, as you could only have amounts ending with ½ major and ¼ major. However, if you have a 20 and a 50 minor, you should logically have a 10 minor also. Otherwise it is difficult to pay an amount ending with 10, 30, 60 or 80 minor. It would be possible, but it would require too many coins.

Politically, the change is potentially controversial, though. At the time, the Netherlands used a 1-2½-5 system, while France had a 1-2-5 system. Changing from 20 to 25 centiemen/centimes is therefore an implicit sop to the Flemish, as it broke the otherwise completely French coin denomination system. If I remember correctly, nobody noticed this at the time.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

<k>

From 1986 to 1989, a new series of coins was introduced. I shall post them here, not in chronological order, but in order of denomination.
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<k>

#44



In 1989 a new 1 franc coin was issued.

It was made of nickel-plated steel.

It was 18 mm in diameter and weighed 2.75 g.


The previous 1 franc coin was made of copper-nickel.

It was 21 mm in diameter and weighed 4 g.


The common reverse featured a portrait of King Baudouin.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.