Catalog
50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887-1908 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE Bruxelles, le 6 Aôut 1906. 50 50 CINQUANTE FRANCS PAYABLE À VUE LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS. H. HENDRICKX DEL. INV. ALBERT DOMS SC. (Translation: National Bank Brussels, August 6th., 1906. Fifty Francs Payable on sight The law punishes the counterfeitor forced labor.) |
| Reverse description | Printed in blue, the reverse carries a symmetric composition with a medallion-style female head at both left and right margins. At the bottom center, two seated allegorical female figures are flanked by a lion and a sheep, rendered in a classical engraved style. The Dutch-language denomination "VIJFTIG FRANKEN" and issuer title "NATIONALE BANK" are inscribed across the upper field. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale de Belgique began printing its own notes in-house in 1851, one of the earlier European central banks to do so, and this long-running 50 Francs series reflects the stability of that arrangement across two decades of uninterrupted issue. Henri Hendrickx designed for the bank across multiple denominations during this period; Albert Doms was among the more accomplished intaglio engravers working in Brussels at the time.
The twenty-one year issue window for P#63 is unusually broad, and serial number research remains the only reliable method for dating individual examples within it.