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5 Centimes - Léopold II Dutch text
| Issuer | Royal Mint of Belgium |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894-1900 |
| 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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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the large numeral '5' in ornate raised figures dominating the centre of the stippled field, beneath which an elongated arrowhead-shaped ribbon cartouche bears the denomination CENTIEMEN in incuse lettering. A six-pointed decorative rosette ornament appears at the base of the design. The circumferential legend LEOPOLD II KONING DER BELGEN (Leopold II, King of the Belgians) runs along the upper and lateral border, with a small floral ornament at the bottom separating the legend terminals. |
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| Reverse lettering | LEOPOLD II KONING DER BELGEN 5 CENTIEMEN (Translation: Leopold the Second, King of the Belgians) |
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| Additional information |
Belgium's language politics of the 1880s and 1890s forced the mint to produce parallel coin types — one with French legends, one with Dutch — for virtually every denomination. The Dutch-text version of this issue emerged directly from that legislative pressure, with the Coinage Act of 1886 formally requiring bilingual parity across circulating currency. The two types were not interchangeable in practice; distribution was weighted toward linguistically appropriate regions, and Flemish-majority areas received predominantly Dutch-text stock.
Copper-nickel had replaced pure copper for this denomination only a few years earlier, a shift driven by the metal's superior resistance to wear in small-denomination circulation.