Catalog
500 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
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| Printer | National Bank of Belgium Printing Works, Brussels, Belgium (1851-2020) |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. Allegorical vignettes occupy the lateral margins — Minerva at left and Mercury at right — with cherub figures at each of the four corners; the Royal Arms of Belgium appear at bottom center. The face carries full letterpress text including the issuing authority, denomination, and date. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Mirror image of the obverse composition printed in dark blue, with the allegorical figures reversed left-to-right. Two rounded control stamps appear at the lateral sides, one in red and one in black. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale de Belgique was established by royal decree in 1850, making this 500 Francs note among the earliest issues from a brand-new central bank — the ink was barely dry on its founding charter. At 500 Francs, this was a high-denomination instrument aimed squarely at commercial and interbank transactions, not retail circulation, which in part accounts for the extreme scarcity of surviving examples in any condition.
Léopold Wiener was primarily a medallist and engraver at the Brussels Mint, and his involvement here reflects the tight institutional overlap between the Mint and the new Bank in those early years.