Hof der dingen - Commemorative Coins – 150 Years of Belgium

Back in 1980, Belgium issued a special commemorative coin to celebrate 150 years of independence from the Netherlands (1830). 

The coin had a face value of 500 Belgian francs, and the design featured symbols and imagery tied to Belgian independence and its history. They made 2 million copies of this coin – 1 million with a Dutch-language edge inscription, and 1 million in French. So, no, it’s not a rare collector’s item. 

While these coins may look silver, they’re not the real deal. Due to the sky-high silver prices at the time, around 50,000 BEF per kilo – roughly € 1,240 back then, compared to € 450 today), the regular edition was only silver-plated with a layer of just a few microns thick. It’s the only time in Belgian coin history that this measure was taken. 

So no, these coins aren’t exactly rare, unique, or even valuable – but they did end up in lots of West Flemish households. It was Caroline Zonnekeyn who brought the item to our attention. 

Oh, and don’t get any ideas about spending these coins – Belgium officially withdrew the coin from circulation in 1990, so it’s been worthless as a legal tender for quite some time.