1868 5 Francs- Belgium. Questions...

Nice big silver crown.

It is Numista-276 and Krause-Mishler-24. To determine value, we must first distinguish whether your coin is the Position A variety or the Position B variety, in regards to the edge lettering.

I would grade the coin as Choice VF; right on the borderline with XF.

For the historical background, you need only Google Leopold II. I think the historical consensus is that he was pretty much a blackhearted villain who did nasty things to the subjects in his African colony.

His reputation is perhaps not as bad as that of Caligula, Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot, but he was definitely one of history's "bad boys". (If he had victimized white people, he might have gotten more condemnation. Sad but true.)