Catalog
20 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879-1892 |
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| Reference(s) | P#59 |
| Obverse description | Blue intaglio print on white paper. Two allegorical standing figures — a woman at left and a man at right, identified as Helena and Paris — flank the central denomination vignette. Denomination numerals and text value are rendered in black letterpress against the blue guilloche underprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE BRUXELLES, LE 16 Juin 1891. VINGT FRANCS PAYABLE À VUE LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS. (Translation: National Bank Brussels, June 16th., 1891. Twenty Francs Payable on sight The law punishes the counterfeitor forced labor.) |
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| Comments |
Pannemaker's involvement here is worth noting — he was among the most technically accomplished wood engravers working in Belgium during the second half of the nineteenth century, better known for his reproductions of paintings for illustrated publications than for banknote work. His contribution to this series sits somewhat outside his usual output.
The Banque Nationale de Belgique was still a relatively young institution when this series entered circulation, having been established only in 1850. The 1870s and 1880s were a period of genuine monetary pressure in Belgium, with public confidence in paper instruments remaining fragile following earlier instability. A twenty-franc denomination sat at a practical threshold — high enough for commercial use, low enough to move through retail hands.
Henri Hendrickx served as the Bank's in-house designer across several note series during this period.