Catalog
50 Centimes Ville de Gand
| Issuer | Stad Gent (City of Ghent) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on a geometric underprint; at left, a vignette of Ghent's skyline including the Church of Saint Nicholas, the Belfry, and the bell tower of Saint Bavo Cathedral, with the civic coat of arms positioned below the urban view. The denomination and municipal authority legends are arranged across the upper and central portions of the note, with a framed serial number at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Deze bon is uitbetaal- baar in het XIe bureel Pouillemarkt 7 alle werkdagen van 10 tot 12 ure Niet meer geldig na 28 Februari 1919 Karel Beyaert |
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| Comments |
Ghent's municipal administration began issuing small-denomination paper during World War I to compensate for the near-total disappearance of coin from circulation — hoarded by civilians and requisitioned by German occupation authorities simultaneously. The Ville de Gand / Stad Gent bilingual designation reflects the city's administrative bilingualism under Belgian law, not any particular political concession to the occupiers.
Karel Beyaert was a local Ghent printer, not a specialist banknote firm. At this size and denomination, production quality was necessarily modest — a local solution to a purely local problem.