1 Franc - Léopold III BELGIQUE-BELGIE

Belgium's zinc coinage of the 1940s was a direct consequence of German occupation — copper, nickel, and silver had been requisitioned for the war effort, leaving the administration with zinc as the only practical option. The same material was simultaneously being used for occupation coinage across France, the Netherlands, and other controlled territories, all produced under German industrial policy rather than Belgian monetary authority.

Zinc corrodes aggressively in humid conditions, and surviving examples in anything above circulated grades are genuinely scarce. Most pieces from this run spent years in pockets and tills before the series was retired.