Belgium - Euro Coins
The building of the Royal Belgian Mint is located in Brussels, between Central Station and North Station, next to the Finance Tower. There is a large car park opposite the Royal Mint. This means that the Royal Mint can easily be reached, both by car and by public transport.
The Royal Belgian Mint strikes all official coins. In 1969 the Mint was renamed Royal Belgian Mint, a denomination that suits the institution better given that coinage is a royal prerogative. The coins are distributed by the National Bank of Belgium.
As a public institution, the Royal Belgian Mint is, in the administrative sphere, subject to the Administration of the Treasury, which makes that it comes under the Minister of Finance.
The activities of the RBM include among other things:
the minting of Belgian coins
the minting of foreign coins
the striking of medals and tokens
the making of all kinds of engravings.
In Belgium, the euro was introduced in 2002. However, the first sets of coins were minted, as preparation, in 1999. Hence the first euro coins of Belgium have minted the year 1999 instead of 2002.
First series (2002–2007)
Belgian euro coins dated 1999–2007 have the portrait of King Albert II and his royal monogram.
Second series (2008–present)
In order to conform to the common guidelines on the design of national faces of coins, Belgium has updated the design of the Belgian national face of euro coins to be produced from 2008. Coins from previous years featuring the old Belgian national face will remain valid.
The changes are:
The coin's inner section shows an effigy of King Albert II in profile facing to the left.
To the right of this, the royal monogram is displayed and, below it, the indication of the country ‘BE’.
Underneath the effigy, the signature mark of the Master of the Mint is displayed on the left and the mint mark on the right, either side of the year.
The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.
As from 2008, the Belgian euro coins also adopted the new common map like the rest of the eurozone countries, some of which adopt it in 2007. A proportion of the Belgian 2 euro coins -common part, the map looks smooth, whereas, the same map on the euros coming from other eurozone countries is dotted.
Belgium is the second state in the EMU, after Finland, to change the design of their standard circulation euro coins in accordance with recommendations defined by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union.
Commemorative 2 euro coins:
Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union 6 million coins FDI 1 March 2005
FDC: 1 April 2005
Description: In the centre of the coin, the effigies of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and King Albert II of the Belgians are depicted, looking right. The engraver's initials (LL) are in the lower left, while the year mark is below the effigies. On the outer circle, the twelve stars of the European Union are displayed, along with the mint mark on the bottom, the monogram of Grand-Duke Henri to the right and the monogram of King Albert II to the left.
Renovation of the Atomium in Brussels 5 million coins 10 April 2006
Description: The coin shows the Atomium in the centre part, with the mint marks to the lower left and right of it. The designer's initials (LL) are to the right. The letter B for Belgium is written at the top of the outer ring, and the year mark at the bottom; the twelve stars of the European Union are positioned between the year mark and the inscription at the top, in two groups of six stars each.
European Union 50th Anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome 87.453 million coins 25 March 2007
Belgium 5 million coins
BELGIQUE–BELGIE–BELGIEN
Due to Belgium's special multilingual society, the Belgian coin features the inscription PACTVM ROMANVM QVINQVAGENARIVM in Latin.
Belgium 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 5 million coins April/May 2008
Description: The inner part of the coin shows curved lines around a rectangle marked with the figure 60. The year mark is inscribed above the rectangle and the words UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS appear below it. The name of the country in its three official languages (BELGIE – BELGIQUE – BELGIEN) is inscribed in a semi-circle below the design. The mint marks appear to the left and right of the design respectively. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin.
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