5 Francs - Léopold II small head

Belgium's adoption of the Latin Monetary Union in 1865 forced a standardization of the 5 franc piece to align with France, Switzerland, and Italy — same fineness, same weight, same diameter. The "small head" designation distinguishes this obverse portrait from the larger effigy type that followed, a distinction that emerged from die modifications at the Brussels mint rather than any deliberate policy decision.

The 1876 and 1878 dates are considerably scarcer than earlier issues in the run, with mintage figures dropping sharply as Belgian silver coinage faced competition from the flood of debased trade silver that prompted the Latin Monetary Union to suspend free coinage of silver in 1878.