Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Belgium)

Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone, mainly in gold and silver, although other precious metals are also used in rare occasions. Belgium was one of the first twelve countries in the Eurozone that introduced the euro (€) on 1 January 2002. Since then, the Belgian Royal Mint have been minting both normal issues of Belgian euro coins, which are intended for circulation, and commemorative euro coins in gold and silver.

These special coins are only legal tender in Belgium, unlike the normal issues of the Belgian euro coins, which are legal tender in every country of the Eurozone. This means that the commemorative coins made of gold and silver cannot be used as money in other countries. Furthermore, as their bullion valuePrecious metals in bulk form are known as bullion, and are traded on international regulated markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots, or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money. generally vastly exceeds their face value, these coins are not intended to be used as means of payment at all—although it remains possible. For this reason, they are usually named Collectors' coins.

The coins usually commemorate the anniversaries of historical events or draw attention to current events of special importance. Belgium mints five of these coins on average per year, in both gold and silver, with face value ranging from 10 to 100 euros. All the coins were designed by Luc Luycx.

Summary

As of 3 July 2008, 27 variations of Belgian commemorative coins have been minted: two in 2002, two in 2003, four in 2004, four in 2005, six in 2006, six in 2007, seven in 2008 and two in 2009 so far. These special high-value commemorative coins are not to be confused with €2 commemorative coins, which are coins designated for circulation and do have legal tender status in all countries of the Eurozone.

The following table shows the number of coins minted per year. In the first section, the coins are grouped by the metal used, while in the second section they are grouped by their face value. Data from years 2020 to 2024 were sourced from Belgian Federal Public Service.

Year Issues   By metal   By face value gold silver Others €100 €50 €25 €20 €12.5 €10 €5 2002 2 2003 2 2004 4 2005 4 2006 5 2007 6 2008 7 2009 6 2010 7 2011 7 2012 5 2013 7 2014 7 2015 9 2016 9 2017 9 2018 8 2019 6 2020 7 2021 9 2022 4 2023 4 2024 3 Total 137 61 69 7 17 17 7 15 20 39 22

2002 coinage

50th Anniversary of the Brussels North–South connection Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) Quantity: 50,008 Quality: Proof Issued: 16 October 2002 Diameter: Weight: The euro was introduced in the Eurozone on 1 January 2002. As a result, Belgium started to mint collectors' coins in late 2002. This coin was their first euro commemorative coin released.

The obverse (front side) shows a train coming out of one of the tunnels in the North–South connection in Brussels. On the coin is written the words Noord-Zuidverbinding Jonction Nord-Midi ("North–South connection" in Dutch and French, respectively) and the years 1952 (representing the opening of the connection) and 2002.

The reverse (back side) shows the effigy of King Albert II, facing to the left surrounded by stars representing the European Union. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro.   50 Years of the European Coal and Steel Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €100 Alloy: Au 999 (gold) Quantity: 5,013 Quality: Proof Issued: 16 December 2002 Diameter: Weight: After the introduction of the euro in 2002, this was the first commemorative euro coin released in gold.

The obverse shows a portrait with the names of three pioneers of European unification: Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak and Konrad Adenauer.

The reverse shows a map of the European Union as of 2002. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 100 euro.

2003 coinage

100th Birthday of Georges Simenon Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) Quantity: 45,086 Quality: Proof Issued: 20 February 2003 Diameter: Weight: Although his well-known protagonist, Detective Inspector Maigret, was Parisian, Georges Simenon was one of the most famous Belgian writers of the 20th century. With more than 200 novels, most of them translated into several dozen languages and more than fifty adapted for television and the large screen, he has left a large collection of masterpieces behind. Two of them, My Friend Maigret (1949) and Maigret in Court (1960) were named in 1987 as two of the hundred best crime novels. For his work particularly on police novels, Belgium has chosen to honor the centennial of his birth (13 February 1903) with a 10-euro sterling silver commemorative coin. The obverse front side shows his portrait.

The reverse shows a map of the European Union as of 2003. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the union.   200th Anniversary of the French Monetary Reform Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €100 Alloy: Au 999 (gold) Quantity: 4,503 Quality: Proof Issued: 15 November 2003 Diameter: Weight: The obverse of the coin shows the two faces of the "Germinal Franc", a currency established in 1803. Some historians consider that, since it references to both gold and silver, this currency indicates the creation of the bi-metallic system.

The reverse shows the effigy of King Albert II. To the left of the coin, the royal mint mark is depicted. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed in the middle as well as the nominal value of 100 euro.

2004 coinage

  75 Years of The Adventures of Tintin Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) Quantity: 50,006 Quality: Proof Issued: 4 January 2004 Diameter: Weight: The coin celebrates the 75th anniversary of the famous Belgian cartoon The Adventures of Tintin, also known as Kuifje. The minting of this coin received a lot of attention worldwide; even the Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders attended the minting ceremony. "It is important to celebrate Tintin and Hergé not only in Belgium, but all over the world", he said.

A portrait of Tintin and his dog Snowy can be seen on the obverse of the coin.

The reverse show a map of the European Union as of 2004. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the union.     Expansion of the European Union Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) Quantity: 40,626 Quality: Proof Issued: 30 July 2004 Diameter: Weight: The female character Europa, abducted by Zeus, watching the continent from the skies, is shown on the obverse of the coin.

The continent Europe has ultimately been named after this female character. In the eighth century, ecclesiastical uses of Europa for the imperium of Charlemagne provide the source for the modern geographical term. The name of Europe as a geographical term came in use by Ancient Greek geographers such as Strabo.Strabo, Geography 8.1.1 It is derived from the Greek word Europa (Ευρώπη) in almost all European languages. Europa has been used frequently as a symbol of Europe; statues of her and the bull, are placed outside several European Union institutions.

On the reverse of the coin, "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the union.     70th Birthday of King Albert II Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €50 Alloy: Au 999 (gold) Quantity: 3,671 Quality: Proof Issued: 30 July 2004 Diameter: Weight: The obverse shows the effigy of King Albert II. To the left of the coin, the royal mint mark is depicted with the number 70, representing his 70th birthday.

The reverse shows, for the first time, the map of the whole of Europe as a representation of the European Union Expansion that took place in 2004. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 50 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the union.     Expansion of the European Union Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €100 Alloy: Au 999 (gold) Quantity: 5,000 Quality: Proof Issued: 2004 Diameter: Weight: On 1 May 2004, eight of the old Socialist states (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), plus the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus, joined the union. This was the largest single enlargement in terms of people and landmass, although the smallest in terms of GDP.

To commemorate this remarkable event, the Belgian mint minted this gold commemorative coin. The obverse shows ten famous landmarks, each of them located in one of the ten new members of the European Union, surrounding the euro symbol with the 12 stars of the union.

The reverse shows the new map of the union, with the new members added. The names of these new members are also shown to the right of the map.

2005 coinage

  Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union Designer: Luc LuycxJan Alfons Keusterman Mint: Brussels Value: €2 Alloy: CuZn25Ni5+Ni (brass)CuNi25 (copper-nickel) Quantity: 5,997,000 Quality: Regular Issued: 1 March 2005 Diameter: Weight:   100th Anniversary of Derby of the Low Countries. 75th Anniversary of Heizel Stadium. Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) & Cu 75 (copper) Quantity: 50,000 Quality: Proof Issued: 2005 Diameter: Weight: The obverse depicts an image of a footballer with the Heysel/Heizel Stadium in the background. The flags of Belgium and the Netherlands can be seen on top of the stadium.

The stadium, also known as King Baudouin Stadium (, ), is a sports ground in north-west Brussels. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930 (days after Belgium's 100th anniversary) as the Jubilee Stadium (, ) in the presence of Prince Leopold III. It was built to embellish the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in view of the 1935 World's Fair. The stadium hosted 70,000 people at the time. This coin was minted to celebrate the 75th anniversary of this event.

The reverse of the coin shows a map of the European Union as of 2005, including the recently joined ten new members. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the union.     60 Years of Peace and Freedom in Europe Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €10 Alloy: Ag 925 (silver) Quantity: 26,095 Quality: Proof Issued: May 2005 Diameter: Weight: The obverse features a stylised version of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, as a representation of a new Europe post 1945, celebrating 60 years of peace and freedom in the continent.

The reverse shows a map of Europe. "Belgium" in the three official languages is displayed as well as the nominal value of 10 euro, surrounded by the 12 stars of the European Union.     FIFA Football World Cup Germany 2006 Designer: Luc Luycx Mint: Royal Belgian Mint Value: €20 Alloy: Ag 999 (silver) Quantity: 9,211 Quality: Proof Issued: 8 December 2005 Diameter: Weight: In the obverse, an effigy of a soccer player commemorating the games is depicted.