Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | City of Ostend (Province of East Flanders) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Emergency banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | At left, an allegorical vignette of the sea in the form of a female figure holding a trident and driving a chariot drawn by two fabulous sea creatures; at upper right, the denomination is set within a shell motif surmounting a caduceus. The central legend is enclosed within a floral border, with the split serial number appearing at far left and far right, and the engraver's name inscribed at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1918 100 FK STAD OOSTENDE GOED VOOR HONDERD FRANK DE BURGEMEESTER (signature) DE SECRETARIS DE SCHEPEN VAN GELDWEZEN (signature) (signature) M L. BELLOGUET (Translation: Ville d'Ostende. Bon pour cent francs. Le Bourgmestre Le Secrétaire L'Echevin des finances) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Ostend fell under German occupation in October 1914 and remained so until the armistice. Municipal emergency notes — noodgeld — were a practical necessity once occupying authorities disrupted normal banking and coin circulation. This 100 Franc note was issued in 1918, the final year of the occupation, when local authorities had been improvising scrip for nearly four years.
The engraver credit to L. Belloguet points to French-trained craftsmanship, though verifying the exact press house is difficult for municipal Belgian issues of this period. Worth noting: Ostend was administratively part of West Flanders, not East Flanders — catalog misattributions on provincial origin are common for Belgian WWI municipal issues.