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20 Francs Oostende
| Issuer | Stad Oostende (City of Ostend) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Francs |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in a floral and foliate letterpress border framing a central cartouche bearing the denomination value. The issuer's name appears in a ribbon scroll at the top, with the date and serial number printed above; three manuscript signatures of the Burgemeester, Secretaris, and Ontvanger appear at the foot, accompanied by an official municipal control stamp at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in salmon-orange and blue-grey tones, with an elaborate symmetrical foliate vignette surrounding a large numeral "20" at centre. The issuer's name appears in a ribbon scroll cartouche at the top, flanked by wheat-ear corner ornaments, while a horizontal rectangular panel below the centre carries the redemption clause in two lines of letterpress text. |
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| Comments |
Ostend was under German military occupation from mid-October 1914, and by 1916 the chronic shortage of small-denomination currency had forced dozens of Belgian municipalities to print their own emergency notes — noodgeld. Stad Oostende issued this 20 Francs through a local lithographer, H. Raick, which was unusual; most occupied towns sourced emergency paper from larger commercial printers elsewhere in unoccupied Belgium or the Netherlands.
Printing locally under occupation meant German authorities had direct visibility over the issue, and municipal issuers had little freedom to deviate from approved denominations or quantities.