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50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE Bruxelles, le 6 Avril 1871. CINQUANTE FRANCS PAYABLE À VUE LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS. (Translation: National Bank Brussels, April 6th, 1871. Fifty Francs Payable on sight. The law punishes the counterfeiter with forced labor.) |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in blue, the reverse is dominated by two intaglio-engraved putti standing at the left and right margins, each holding an overflowing cornucopia fruit basket. A laureate mascaron mask is centered at the top within an elaborate acanthus and foliate scrollwork surround, while a symmetrical cartouche of acanthus leaves and palmettes occupies the lower center. The designer and engraver credits — H. HENDRICKX DEL. INV. and CH. WULLSCHLEGER SC. — appear in the lower corners. |
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| Comments |
Belgium's 1871 50 Francs issue came during a period of acute monetary sensitivity — the Franco-Prussian War had just collapsed confidence in French paper, and the Banque Nationale was under quiet pressure to demonstrate the solidity of its own circulation. The engraving is the work of Charles Wullschleger, a Swiss-born craftsman whose intaglio work for Brussels was notably finer than much of what the National Bank's in-house press produced in surrounding decades.
Henri Hendrickx handled the design. Pick 54 is genuinely scarce in any grade — low surviving populations suggest most examples were retired and pulped well before the early twentieth century redemption cycles.