Belgium hosted the 1920 Antwerp Games under circumstances most Olympic hosts never face: the city had been occupied by German forces for four years, its infrastructure gutted, its population still rationing food. The IOC awarded Antwerp the Games in 1919 partly as an act of political sympathy toward a devastated nation. Those Games also introduced the Olympic flag and the athlete's oath for the first time.
The colored variant of this 2020 centennial issue — KM#409.1 versus the uncolored 409 — commands a modest premium and was sold directly through the Royal Belgian Mint in limited packaging.
Belgium hosted the 1920 Antwerp Games under circumstances most Olympic hosts never face: the city had been occupied by German forces for four years, its infrastructure gutted, its population still rationing food. The IOC awarded Antwerp the Games in 1919 partly as an act of political sympathy toward a devastated nation. Those Games also introduced the Olympic flag and the athlete's oath for the first time.
The colored variant of this 2020 centennial issue — KM#409.1 versus the uncolored 409 — commands a modest premium and was sold directly through the Royal Belgian Mint in limited packaging.