5 Centimes - Louis XVIII Antwerp, Siege Coinage

Antwerp held out against Allied forces until May 1814, months after Napoleon's abdication, under the command of General Carnot. The city's prolonged resistance created acute shortages of small change, prompting municipal authorities to issue emergency bronze coinage from whatever metal was available. These siege pieces were struck under conditions of active bombardment and supply blockade — not ceremonial tokens minted in hindsight, but functional currency produced under genuine military duress.

The attribution to Louis XVIII is awkward: the king had not yet formally entered France when these were struck, making the royalist allegiance on the coin partly anticipatory.