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1 Centime - Léopold II Dutch and French text, Pattern

Issuer Belgium
Year 1882
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Technique Milled
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Reverse description The central field features a lion passant, the heraldic symbol of Belgium, resting a raised forepaw upon a tablet inscribed 'BELGISCHE GRONDWET 1831', a reference to the Belgian Constitution of that year. The national motto in Dutch, 'EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT' (Unity Makes Strength), arcs along the upper border. The denomination '1 CENTM.' appears in the lower field, accompanied by the engraver's signature 'BRAEMT F.' A milled border encircles the entire reverse design.
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Reverse lettering EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT 1 CENTM. BELGISCHE GRONDWET 1831 * BRAEMT F.
(Translation: Unity Makes Strength Belgian Constitution 1831 * Made by Braemt)
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Additional information

Belgian pattern coins of this period were struck at the Brussels mint as internal trials, often exploring alternative metals for minor denominations that were expensive to produce in copper. Aluminium was attracting serious attention from European mints in the early 1880s as a candidate for low-denomination coinage — lightweight, resistant to corrosion, and cheap. Nothing came of it for Belgium's centime series; copper remained.

The Dutch-French bilingual type places this piece after the 1878 language legislation that mandated equal treatment of Dutch on official coinage, a politically charged compromise that took years to fully implement across all denominations.

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