Catalog
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| Issuer | Bureau de Bienfaisance de Schaerbeek |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.11 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Completely plain and devoid of any design, inscription, or device, presenting a flat, featureless field consistent with a simple utilitarian token struck for local welfare distribution purposes. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Belgian bureaux de bienfaisance — municipal poor-relief offices — issued token coinage throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries to distribute welfare in kind rather than cash, preventing recipients from spending relief funds on anything other than designated goods. Schaerbeek's bureau served one of Brussels' most densely populated communes, and milk tokens in particular were tied to infant mortality campaigns driven by the broader hygienic reform movement sweeping Belgian cities after 1870.
The specific redemption value — a half litre — points to direct distribution through approved dairies rather than general markets.