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10 Centimes German Occupation Coinage
| Issuer | German Occupation of Belgium |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1917 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the Belgian lion rampant passant, facing left with forepaws raised, rendered in bold relief within a beaded inner circle. The annular border between the inner circle and the outer rim is decorated with a continuous undulating ribbon motif interspersed with six-petalled rosettes. The entire composition is framed by a finely beaded outer rim. No legend appears on this face, the heraldic lion serving as the sole device, emphasizing the coin's Belgian national identity despite its wartime occupation context. |
|---|---|
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| Mint | Brussels Mint |
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| Additional information |
Belgium's pre-war copper coinage was systematically melted by German occupation authorities after 1914, and zinc was substituted not as a wartime compromise but as deliberate policy — stripping the occupied territory of its copper reserves for German munitions production. The Kaiserreich issued these coins under a dual-language format reflecting Belgium's linguistic divide, a detail the occupation administration was careful to maintain to avoid inflaming Flemish-Walloon tensions at a politically sensitive moment.
Zinc corrodes aggressively in circulation, and surviving problem-free examples are genuinely scarce. Most survivors show the characteristic white oxidation and surface granularity inherent to the alloy.