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20 Francs - Albert I
| Issuer | Nationale Bank van België / Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921-1926 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1832-2001) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of a busy Belgian city square, likely the Grand-Place in Brussels, with imposing Gothic and baroque civic buildings rendered in fine intaglio line engraving. Elaborate scrollwork and guilloche panels frame the design on all sides, with the denomination numeral '20' repeated in the upper corners. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Circular watermark area at left on the obverse, intended for a portrait or geometric watermark in the paper. |
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| Comments |
Belgium's postwar monetary position was fragile throughout the early 1920s. The franc had lost significant purchasing power during the German occupation, and the National Bank was issuing notes at a pace intended to stabilize commerce rather than represent genuine reserves. This 20 Francs series ran across five years — a long print run by the standards of the period — as the Bank navigated reparations negotiations and the broader European credit crisis before the franc's eventual stabilization under the Francs de Germinal reforms.
Pick 94 is frequently found with soft folds concentrated at the vertical center, a consequence of how these smaller-denomination notes were folded for counter transactions. Collectors should scrutinize the watermark margins closely, as trimming was not uncommon.