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2 Francs Spa
| Issuer | Ville de Spa (Province de Liège) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1916 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 111 × 67 mm |
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| Obverse description | The crowned coat of arms of the City of Spa, flanked by two lions as supporters, is printed at centre, with the arms appearing in variable colours across different issues. The denomination in francs is inscribed in the upper left corner, with the serial number printed in black at centre. Legends, official titles, and three manuscript signature lines for the Receveur, the Secrétaire, and the Bourgmestre are arranged in letterpress below the vignette. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ADMINISTRATION COMMUNALE DE SPA |
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| Comments |
When German forces occupied Belgium in August 1914, the disruption to normal banking and coin supply prompted hundreds of Belgian communes to issue their own emergency paper. Spa, the famous resort town in the Ardennes whose name became the common noun for thermal baths across Europe, was no exception. The Ville de Spa authorized these notes under the broad framework of wartime municipal necessity, a practice the Belgian government retrospectively tolerated rather than formally sanctioned.
Printed locally by the widow Engel-Lievens, these are firmly provincial productions — modest presswork, no security features worth noting. The two-franc denomination matches a gap left by hoarded coin rather than any deliberate monetary calculation.