Hellow I was checking my coins one day and I found something strange on my Bulgum 50 centimes coin minted in 1967. It's not proof. On the front of the coin there's a 50 in the middle and two wing like figures at the side of the 50 one on each side. Ontop of the 50 there's a crown and going through the middle of the 50 is the date. The 19 on the left side and the 67 on the right of the 50. On the back there's a man that looks like a solider. On the side of him there seems to be a missle shaped object I can't identify it can you help. :stooge:
That is just a representation for Belgium.It is very similar to Marianne,which represents the French republican system.Belgium is mainly French-speaking anyway. Aidan.
Err, not quite - that is a coal miner. He is depicted on the 20 and 50 centimes coins from those years. Christian
Belgium has a population of about 10 million, with roughly 6 million Dutch speakers (Flemish) and 4 million French speakers (Walloon). The third official language is German, spoken in just a few counties in Eastern Belgium. On recent Belgian commems you will always find the country name in all three languages. Christian
BTW,can anyone explain to me why Belgium seem to bounce back and forth with their country's name on coins? 1925 50c...Belgique 1954 50c...Belgie 1958 50c...Belgique 1987 50c...Belgie 1998 50c...Belgique What's up with this???
See above - different languages. "België" is Dutch/Flemish, "Belgique" is French/Walloon. On newer collector coins you will also see "Belgien" which is German. And some commems have "Belgica", which is Latin, to avoid the language issue, hehe. The current Belgian coins do not have a country name at all. Christian
So let me get this straight.Were they trying to be politically correct like Canada except instead of putting everything in two languages,they alternated from year to year? Was it every year,every five years and what determined this...Enquiring minds want to know..:mouth:
No, Belgium basically used to do it à la canadienne. Most Belgian pre-euro coins were issued in two versions, Dutch/Flemish and French/Walloon. In some years, only one type was made indeed, but by and large both versions were issued every year. Christian
THANK YOU Chris, I never thought of that option.You have an amazing amount of knowledge of European coins!!
Thanks, but note my location. "NW" is the state of North Rhine Westphalia, "DE" is the Federal Republic of Germany, and "EU" is the European Union. Belgium is less than an hour away from here. And of course I mostly write about coins I am familiar with, hehe. That is, primarily Western Europe after 1950 or so ... Christian
I do know why German has appeared on modern Belgian coins.It is representing the fact that the German-speaking community mainly live in Eupen & Malmedy,which was shuttled back & forth between Belgium & Germany in both World Wars.The same situation applies to Alsace-Lorraine,which is now part of France,but it is mainly German-speaking as well. The Belgian Euro coins have the 'AII' monogram & the portrait of King Albert II,who succeeded his brother, King Baudouin in 1993. Aidan.
