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100 Franks / 20 Belgas
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique / Nationale Bank van België |
|---|---|
| Year | 1927-1932 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE DE BELGIQUE 100 FRANCS OU 20 BELGAS PAYABLES A VUE LE TRESORIER LE GOUVERNEUR LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCES (Translation: National Bank of Belgium 100 Francs or 20 Belgas Payable at Sight The Treasurer The Governor The Law Punishes the Counterfeiter with Forced Labour) |
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| Reverse lettering | NATIONALE BANK VAN BELGIE 100 FRANK OF 20 BELGAS BETAALBAAR OP ZICHT HONDERD FRANK OF TWINTIG BELGA DE NAMAKER WORDT DOOR DE WET MET DWANGARBEID GESTRAFT (Translation: National Bank of Belgium 100 Francs or 20 Belgas Payable at Sight One Hundred Francs or Twenty Belgas The Counterfeiter is Punished by Law with Forced Labour) |
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| Comments |
The dual denomination — 100 Francs and 20 Belgas simultaneously — reflects Belgium's short-lived parallel currency system introduced in 1926, when the Belga was created as a unit equal to five Francs, intended primarily to simplify foreign exchange and commercial transactions. The Belga never replaced the Franc in daily use; ordinary Belgians largely ignored it, and the experiment was quietly abandoned after the Second World War without ever achieving the traction its architects anticipated.
With just over twelve million printed across a five-year run, this is not a scarce type in absolute terms, though the earlier dates within the 1927–1932 window turn up less frequently than the later ones.