5 Francs - Léopold III BELGIQUE BELGIE

Belgium's nickel coinage was suspended almost immediately after this type entered circulation — German forces occupied the country in May 1940, and the occupying authority halted nickel coin production as the metal was redirected for the war effort. The 1938 and 1939 dates therefore represent the entirety of this type's production run, cut short not by monetary policy but by invasion.

Léopold III's relationship with the occupation itself became one of the most divisive episodes in Belgian political history — his decision to remain in Belgium as a prisoner rather than join the government-in-exile shadowed the monarchy for decades afterward.