2 Euro commemorative coins Belgium

Belgium

2 Euro

C o m m e m o r a t i v e C o i n s

Belgium
The edge lettering of the Belgian 2‐euro‐commemorative coins is : Different embossings are noted in the individual description.	Belgian mint mark until 2017 :

Image	Country		Date	Feature	Ref.	Volume
🔎		Belgium	20 May 2005	Belgian‐Luxembourg Economic Union	20001 20002 20005	6,023,000	•
	Description : The commemorative coin designed by Luc Luycx on the occasion of the Belgian‐Luxembourg Economic Union (UEBL), which was formed in 1921 (and came into force in 1922), shows the portraits and crowned monograms of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (left) and King Albert II of Belgium (right) looking to the left. On the ring their monograms are assigned to the sides, above and below there are six European stars each. The year of issue "2005" is shown below the portraits, and the designer's initials "LL" appear at the bottom right. The two lower stars are flanked on the left by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels, and on the right by a scale yhe logo of the mint master Romain Coenen. The coin bears no designation of the issuing country. The coin was originally planned as a joint issue between Belgium and Luxembourg. As Luxembourg had already issued its own 2‐Euro commemorative coin in 2005, the coin was issued by Belgium only.

🔎		Belgium	10 Apr. 2006	Renovation of the Atomium in Brussels	20001 20002 20005	5,023,000	•
	Description : The Atomium was designed as a symbol of the atomic age and the peaceful use of nuclear energy by engineer André Waterkeyn and elaborated by architects André and Jean Polak and built for the EXPO '58 World Exposition in Brussels. It is a 102 m high representation of the cubic crystal structure of iron. The atoms are designed as hollow spheres and the lattice that unites them to form the imaginary elementary cell consists of tubes. Three of the spherical shells are additionally supported from the floor. Originally intended only for the duration of the World's Fair, the Atomium became a landmark of Brussels and was therefore preserved. The occasion of the issue is the reopening after several years of renovation. Six of the nine hollow spheres are open to the public and are used for exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and congresses; there is a restaurant at the top. The helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels is to the left of the base of the Atomium, to the right of it a scale the logo of the mint master Romain Coenen. On the right are the initials "LL" of the designer Luc Luycx. The national emblem "B" (for Belgium) is placed at the top of the ring, the year "2006" at the bottom, and six stars of Europe are placed in two groups in between.

🔎		Belgium	26 Mar. 2007	50th anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome	20001 20002 20005	5,040,000	•
	Description : The Treaty establishing the European Community, called the Treaty of Rome (originally called the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in December 2009) was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands at the Conservatory Palace in Rome. It came into force on 1st of January 1958. At the same time two other treaties were concluded, the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, which established EURATOM, and the Agreement on Institutions Common to the European Communities, which stipulated that the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) had a common parliamentary assembly (now the European Parliament), a common Court of Justice and a common Economic and Social Committee. On the 5th of May 2006, EU Commissioner Joaquín Almunia and Eurogroup President Jean‐Claude Juncker announced the first transnational 2‐Euro commemorative coin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The directors of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, the Spanish mint Real Casa de la Moneda and the Austrian Mint Münze Österreich AG met in Vienna to exchange ideas. The ideas were presented and amalgamated into a design by the commissioned engraver Helmut Andexlinger, after approval he produced a model of the coin. It shows the treaty with the signatures of the representatives from the six founding states, framed by the pavement pattern of the Capitol Square in Rome, designed by Michelangelo where the treaty was signed. National characteristics : At the top are the words "PACTVM ROMANVM" (Treaty of Rome) and "QVINQVAGENARIVM" (50 years), below it is an illustration of the treaty with the words "EUROPA/EUROPE", at the bottom the country name "BELGIQUE‐BELGIE‐BELGIEN" (in French, Dutch and German), above that is the year "2007" ‐ flanked on the left by a pair of scales the logo of mint master Romain Coenen, and on the right the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	30 May 2008	60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	20001 20002 20005	5,018,000	•
	Description : At the session of the United Nations General Assembly held at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris on the 10th of December 1948, Resolution 217 was adopted with the ‐ legally non‐binding ‐ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its Article 1 reads: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights". The coin designed by Luc Luycx is dedicated to this resolution. A rectangle surrounded by curved lines, resembling a stylised book, bears a circle symbolising the circle of the earth and the number "60". Below this, the occasion of issue "UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS" is written in four lines. Above it is the year "2008". Below is in a semicircle the name of the issuing country "BELGIE ‐ BELGIQUE ‐ BELGIEN" in the three national languages Dutch, French and German, flanked on the left by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and on the right by a scale the logo of mint master Romain Coenen.

🔎		Belgium	27 Jan. 2009	10th anniversary of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)	20001 20002 20005	5,012,000	•
	Description : In 1972 the European Exchange Rate Mechanism was created to limit fluctuations between currencies. In 1975 a basket of currencies was used to define the European Currency Unit (ECU) and in 1979 the European Monetary System was created. 1990 saw the start of the first stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and in 1994 the second stage, during which the European Monetary Institute prepared for the establishment of the European Central Bank (ECB). In 1996 the European Commission established the currency abbreviation €. In 1999, saw the third stage of EMU, all participating currencies were linked to the euro by exchange rate parity. In 2008 a design competition was held for the EMU Community Edition coin and out of 5 proposals a winner, Georgios Stamatopoulos was determined by an online vote. The design shows a stylised human stick figure on the blank space of an irregularly shaped ancient coin, with the € symbol on the left arm. It symbolises the transition from the bartering of archaic times to European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Below the € symbol are the designer's initials "ΓΣ" and the years "1999‐2009". National characteristics : Above is the name of the issuing country in the three national languages "BELGIE ‐ BELGIQUE ‐ BELGIE" (Dutch, French and German), the acronym of the occasion of issue below is "EMU". The motif is flanked on the left by a pair of scales the logo of mint master Romain Coenen, and on the right by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	25 Sep. 2009	200th birthday of Louis Braille	20001 20002 20005	5,013,500	•
	Description : The coin designed by Luc Luycx is dedicated to Louis Brailles (1809‐1852), a Frenchman who went blind at the age of five after an accident. At the age of eleven, he learned of the "night writing" developed by Charles Barbier (1767‐1841), which was intended to give written orders to soldiers at the front who could read them without lighting a lantern, as they would otherwise have exposed themselves to enemy fire. In 1824, at the age of fifteen, he developed a code for the French alphabet to improve night writing. After a second revision, in 1837 he published the first binary braille developed in modern times. Between the initials "L" and "B", which are written in braille, the coin shows his image after a bust by an unknown artist. Above this is written in the form of an arch "LOUIS BRAILLE". Below are "1809" as Braille's year of birth, the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and the year of issue "2009", flanked on the left by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and on the right by a feather the logo of the mint master Serge Lesens.

🔎		Belgium	11 Jun. 2010	Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union	20001 20002 20005	5,012,000	•
	Description : The coin presents the logo of the Belgian Presidency, stylised letters "eu" and "trio.be" as a reference to the website eutrio.be. Since 2007, three countries have jointly held a so‐called trio presidency for an eighteen‐month programme. A logo was sought for the Trio Presidency of Belgium, Spain and Hungary in a competition open to art and design students from the three countries. The winner was Antoine Durieux from Belgium. The dynamism of the three countries is to be symbolised by the gossamer cursive letters "eu" of the logo. The handwritten style is meant to invite all citizens to embrace the European project. The text framing the logo, "BELGIAN PRESEDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2010", indicates the occasion of issue. The design of the coin is by Luc Luycx. The name of the issuing country is shown below with "BELGIE BELGIQUE BELGIEN" in Dutch, French and German, above it the year of issue "2010", flanked on the left by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and on the right by a feather the logo of the mint master Serge Lesens.

🔎		Belgium	03 May 2011	1st Centenary of the International Women's Day	20001 20002 20005	5,013,500	•
	Description : The coin minted for the 100th International Women's Day shows the physician Isala van Diest (1842‐1916) on the left next to the staff of Asclepius entwined by a snake and the educator and jurist Marie Popelin (1846‐1913) on the right next to the scales of Justice as an attribute. Both had a decisive influence on the Belgian women's movement. Their portraits appear in front of a slightly slanted Venus symbol representing the female sex. The names "I.VAN DIEST" on the left and "M.POPELIN" on the right are written in a semicircle below, with the year of issue "2011" in between. The coin was designed by Luc Luycx. Next to the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) a feather is depicted at the top left the logo of the mint master Serge Lesens, on the right the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	30 Jan. 2012	10th anniversary of the Euro‐Currency	20001 20002 20005	5,022,000	•
	Description : To mark the tenth anniversary of the final adoption of the euro as cash, all 17 EU countries using the euro as their official currency issued a commemorative € 2 coin. There were five designs submitted, which could be voted for online. The result was announed on the 30th of June 2011: the winning design was created by Helmut Andexlinger and shows a globe in the middle, overlaid with the euro symbol. The importance of the euro in Europe and the world as a whole coupled with the fact that it has become a global player in the international monetary system over the last ten years, is illustrated by the euro symbol. According to the designer, the symbolic elements around the stylised globe represent the suggestion that the euro offers more opportunities for businesses and markets which in turn ensures economic stability by encouraging investment in this environment. The factory shape symbolises production, the cargo ship trade, all of which benefit the symbolic family of four with three homes by providing more quality jobs and stable consumer prices. The symbol of the Eurotower in Frankfurt/M. represents financial strength and the two wind turbines shows stimulation in innovative investments that this environment presents, whose central element is the euro. At the bottom of the coin are the years "2002 and "2012". National characteristics : At the top of the coin is the abbreviation of the issuing country "BE" (Belgium), flanked on the left by a feather the logo of the mint master Serge Lesens and on the right by the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels, the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael.

🔎		Belgium	06 Jun. 2012	75th anniversary of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition	20001 20002 20005	5,013,000	•
	Description : Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876‐1965) organised the music competition based on the conception of the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. The first prize‐winner was David Oistrakh in 1937. The competition is held alternately in the categories violin, piano and voice, and in odd‐numbered years also as a composition competition. The winner in 2012 was Andrey Baranov, violin. The coin design is by Luc Luycx. It shows the crowned monogram of the Queen, logo of the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth, in front of her silhouette. At the top are the dates "1937 ‐ 2012", below in a semicircle "QUEEN ELISABETH COMPETITION" and on the right the country abbreviation "BE" (Begium). On the left is a feather the logo of the mint master Serge Lesens, on the right the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	18 Sep. 2013	100th anniversary of the creation of the Royal Meteorological Institute	20001 20002 20005	2,010,000	•
	Description : For the 100th anniversary of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Peter Denayer de Hofstade designed this commemorative coin. The motif shows the number "100" in the centre, the first zero of which encloses the institute's abbreviations "KMI" (Koninklijk Meteorologisch Instituut in Dutch and Königliches Meteorologisches Institut in German) and "IRM" (Institut royal météorologique in French), while the second zero represents the sun. Isobars, raindrops represented by parallel lines and (circular) snowflakes appear on the left. At the top is "2013" ‐ divided in the middle by a sunbeam ‐ below is the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium). A cat the logo of mint master Bernard Gillard and the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels are depicted below the numeral 1 of the number 100.

🔎		Belgium	12 May 2014	100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War	20001 20002 20005	1,712,000	•
	Description : In Flanders' Fields is one of the best‐known English‐language poems about the First World War. It was written on the 3rd of May 1915 by the Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, whose friend had fallen at Ypres the previous day. The poem describes the fields of Flanders, where the red blossoming corn poppies remind us of the spilled blood of the fallen and yet nurture the hope that life goes on. It is not only in English‐speaking countries that the poppy blossom has since come to symbolise the memory of fallen soldiers, and so it adorns the coin dedicated to the centenary commemoration, which runs from 2014 to 2018 and was designed by Luc Luycx. At the top it reads "BELGIE‐BELGIQUE‐BELGIEN" (Belgium in Dutch, French and German), and at the bottom "2014‐18" "The Great War Centenary". At the bottom, next to a cat the logo of the mint master Bernard Gillard, is the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	18 Sep. 2014	150th anniversary of the Belgium Red Cross	20001 20002 20005	287,500	•
	Description : Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, witnessed the Battle of Solferino on the 24th of June 1859, during which some 6,000 soldiers were killed and 25,000 wounded in a single day. The totally inadequate medical care for the wounded so horrified him that he devoted himself to organising relief efforts. His memoirs, published in book form in 1862, led to the founding of the "Committee of Relief Societies for the Care of the Wounded" in 1863, which has been called the "International Committee of the Red Cross" since 1876. On the 4th of February 1864, a Relief Committee for Wounded Soldiers was founded in Brussels, and on the 22nd of August 1864, Belgium and 12 other states signed the first Geneva Convention, which enshrined in international law the protective provisions suggested by Henry Dunant. In the shape of a cross around the number "150" is written "CROIX ROUGE" and "RODE KRUIS" (Red Cross in French and Dutch respectively). At the bottom left is the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium), at the right the year of issue "2014", at the top left the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels, and at the right a cat the logo of the mint master Bernard Gillard's. There are specimens of the coin designed by Luc Luycx that show the Roman mint's () or the Dutch version (GOD ⋆ ZIJ ⋆ MET ⋆ ONS ⋆) instead of the normal Belgian edge inscription ().

🔎		Belgium	17 Sep. 2015	2015 ‐ European Year for Development	20001 20002 20005	250,000	•
	Description : The coin motif, designed by Luc Luycx, shows a hand holding a globe with a plant growing in front of it. The lettering "2015 EUROPEAN YEAR FOR DEVELOPMENT" forms an arch above the globe. Under the motto "Our world, our dignity, our future", information was provided on the development policy of the European Union and its member states and active engagement was encouraged. The country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) is below the hand, while to the left of it is the cat the logo of the mint master Bernard Gillard and the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels.

🔎		Belgium	18 Nov. 2015	30th anniversary of the EU‐Flag	20001 20002 20005	412,500	•
	Description : From 1950, the Council of Europe had been working on the design of a flag for Europe. The proposal to adopt the emblem of the Paneuropa Union, founded by Richard Coudenhove‐Kalergi in 1922, was rejected because of its supposed Christian symbolism. In 1955 it was agreed that the European flag, also adopted by the European Community on 29th of June 1985, would be the European flag with the twelve (a number of twelve is considered a sign of perfection) golden stars in a circular (symbolising unity) arrangement on a blue background. To mark the 30th anniversary of the EU flag, all 19 EU countries which use the euro as their official currency issued a commemorative €2 coin. There were five designs to choose from which could be voted for online. The result was declared on 28th of May 2015. The coin design was created by Georgios Stamatopoulos, coin designer at the Bank of Greece, whose initials "ΓΣ" can be seen in the lower right‐hand corner. It shows twelve stylised persons in a circle around a European flag with the twelve euro stars. National characteristics : Above is the name of the issuing country "BELGIE ‐ BELGIQUE ‐ BELGIEN" (in Dutch, French and German), followed by the dates "1985‐2015". A cat the logo of the mint master Bernard Gillard, as well as the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels, are depicted on the right.

🔎		Belgium	24 Mar. 2016	Olympic Summer Games 2016 - Team Belgium	20001 20002 20005	375,000	•
	Description : The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows a stylised figure with outstretched arms, the five Olympic rings and the inscription "TEAM BELGIUM". It is dedicated to Belgium's participation in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. On the left, written vertically, is "2016", on the right the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) between the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and a cat the logo of mint master Bernard Gillard. The coin was not issued in rolls, only in coincards and in annual coin sets.

🔎		Belgium	25 May 2016	International Missing Children's Day	20001 20002 20005	1,020,000	•
	Description : The "Child Focus Foundation" for missing and sexually exploited children was founded by Jean‐Denis Lejeune in June 1996, one year after the abduction of his eight year old daughter Julie and her friend Mélissa Russo by sex offender Marc Dutroux. Both girls starved to death, locked up while Dutroux was imprisoned. The coin designed by Luc Luycx shows the face of Liam Vanden Branden, a child who disappeared without trace in 1996. In the form of an arc, the bottom left‐hand corner reads "MISSING ‐ DISPARU ‐ VERMIST" (missing in English, French and Dutch), at the bottom the Foundation's web address "WWW.CHILDFOCUS.BE" and at the top "BELGIQUE ‐ BELGIE ‐ BELGIEN" (Belgium in French, Dutch and German), followed by the year of issue "2016". The helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and a cat the logo of the mint master Bernard Gillard are depicted on the left and right of the motif, respectively.

🔎		Belgium	21 Apr. 2017	200 anniversary University of Liège	20001 20002 <20005	200,000	•
	Description : The motif depicts the emblem of the University of Liège with the year "1817" and "2017", surrounded in a circle by the inscription "200 ANS UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE ‐ 200 YEARS UNIVERSITY OF LIEGE". Below is the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) flanked by the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels and the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele. The campus of the university, founded at the time of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William I, is located in Sart Tilman, on a wooded hill in the south of Liège, formerly owned by the Benedictine monasteries of St James and St Laurence, Abbaye Saint‐Jacques and Abbaye Saint‐Laurent, founded at the beginning of the 11th century and existing until around 1800. The coat of arms, designed for the 150th anniversary of the University in 1967, shows, under a crown and above the inscription "Universitas Leodiensis" (Liège University in Latin), the iconographic attributes of St Lawrence (a grate, the instrument of torture) and St James (scallops), as well as the coat of arms of the city of Liège. The latter depicts three lions under a column carrying a pine cone.

🔎		Belgium	29 Sep. 2017	200th anniversary of Ghent University	20001 20002 20005	225,000	•
	Description : The commemorative coin designed by Luc Luycx shows the logo of Ghent University, which was founded in 1817, during the reign of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, under King William I. It is flanked by the dates "1817" and "2017" and encircled by the words ‐ in Dutch and English ‐ "200 JAAR UNIVERSITEIT GENT ‐ 200 YEARS GHENT UNIVERSITY" as well as the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and on the left the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele, on the right the helmeted head of the Archangel Michael the mint mark of the Royal Belgian mint Monnaie Royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Munt van België / Königliche Belgische Münzprägeanstalt in Brussels, which closed at the end of 2017.

🔎		Belgium	19 Jun. 2018	50th anniversary of May 1968 events in Belgium	20001 20002 20005	257,500	•
	Description : The motif shows two students in front of the stylised facade of a university with a flag and a leaflet, respectively, and symbolises student demonstrations that took place in Belgium in May 1968 in connection with the socio‐cultural changes. These events, now 50 years ago, were of nationwide significance and had an impact on Belgian politics and subsequent state reforms. In Belgium, for example, students fought against the French‐language influence at the bilingual University of Leuven. In the months of negotiations ‐ reflecting the Flemish‐Walloon conflict ‐ the modalities of the separation were discussed, in particular the compensation that the Université catholique de Louvain would receive for the buildings and facilities left behind in Leuven. In the autumn of 1968, it was decided to split the university into the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain. For the latter, a new city south of the language border, Louvain‐la‐Neuve ("New Louvain"), was established from 1971 onwards, the first new Belgian foundation of a city in three hundred years. The separation of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel from the then bilingual Université Libre de Bruxelles is also linked to May 1968. At the top it says ‐ in Dutch and French ‐ "mei mai 1968" (May 1968), on the left the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele, thestaff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht, "2018", "BE" (Belgium) as the country identifier and "LL", the initials of the mint designer Luc Luycx.

🔎		Belgium	20 Sep. 2018	50th anniversary of the launch of European satellite ESRO‐2B	20001 20002 20005	257,500	•
	Description : The European satellite "ESRO‐2B" for cosmic radiation research, developed by ESRO with the participation of Belgium, is also known as "Iris 2" (International Radiation Investigation Satellite). Launched in May 1968, it was only fully functional for six months and burned up in 1971 when it re‐entered the Earth's atmosphere. The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows it in orbit around the Earth, with Africa with Madagascar, the Near East and western South Asia, Europe and Greenland visible alongside part of Arctic North America and the Brazilian eastern tip of South America. At the top, the occasion of the issue "ESRO‐2B" and the dates "1968" and "2018" are mentioned. Below the satellite is the designation "IRIS", at the bottom the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele, the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium), the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht and the mint designer's initials "LL".

🔎		Belgium	24 Jan. 2019	450th anniversary of the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder	20001 20002 20005	155,000	•
	Description : Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca.1525/1530‐1569) was a Dutch Renaissance painter known for his depictions of rural life in the 16th century Duchy of Brabant. One of his great models was Hieronymus Bosch. Bruegel's idiosyncratic style can only be inadequately described by the term Mannerism. He is depicted on the coin after an engraving made by Edme de Boulonois in 1582, in front of an easel with the 1563 version of his painting Tower of Babel, which is in the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. Theologians see the tower‐building project as an attempt by humanity to equal God. Under the inscription "P. BRUEGEL" are his year of death "1569†" and the year of issue "2019", on the left the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele, the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht, on the right the initials "LL" of the coin designer Luc Luycx.

🔎		Belgium	09 May 2019	25th anniversary of the establishment of the European Monetary Institute	20001 20002 20005	155,000	•
	Description : The coin is dedicated to the European Monetary Institute, founded in 1994 and the predecessor of the European Central Bank (ECB), which was established in 1998. On the right, it depicts its first president, the Hungarian‐Belgian economist Alexandre Lamfalussy (1929‐2015), who held office until 1997. Below the inscription "A. Lamfalussy", the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and the year of issue "2019". At the top left is "European Monetary Institute" in a quarter circle, with "1994" and "EMI" below it, followed by four coins depicted one above the other with the inscriptions "€", "ECU", and "BEF", symbolising the transition from national currencies to the single European currency, the euro. On the left is the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele below the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht. On the right are the initials "LL" of the coin designer Luc Luycx.

🔎		Belgium	05 Mar. 2020	International year of plant health	20002 20007 20008	755,000	•
	Description : Under the semi‐circular name of the issue occasion "INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANT HEALTH", the official logo of the IYPH 2020 is depicted with the year "2020". Five healthy leaves form a globe, symbolising that they are the source of oxygen, food and all life on earth. Leaves protected from disease and devastating pests are central to protecting the environment and promoting economic development and fighting hunger and poverty. The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) at the bottom, on the left the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele and on the right the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht.

🔎		Belgium	15 Oct. 2020	Jan van Eyck	20002 20003 20005	155,000	•
	Description : Jan van Eyck (∼1390‐1441) was a Flemish painter of the late Middle Ages and is regarded as the founder and most famous representative of Old Netherlandish painting. With his perfect painting technique and his sense of realistic representation, he introduced the new naturalistic artistic epoch north of the Alps. His most famous work, the Ghent Altarpiece, returned to St. Bavo's Cathedral in 2020 after several years of restoration. To mark the occasion, the city of Ghent is celebrating a "Van Eyck Year". The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows the portrait Man with a Red Turban, created in 1433 and part of the inventory of the National Gallery in London, which is considered a self‐portrait of the painter. Under the issue occasion "J. van Eyck", his signature "Johannes de Eyck" is depicted on the left; the year of issue "2020" and the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) appear on the right; the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten appears below and the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele. On the painter's palette shown on the lower left, the initials "LL" of the designer can be seen next to two brushes and heaps of paint.

🔎		Belgium	07 Jul. 2021	100th anniversary of the Belgium‐Luxembourg Economic Union Treaty	20002 20003 20005	155,000	•
	Description : Although the population of Luxembourg had voted by a majority of over 60 % in favour of economic annexation to France in the referendum of the 28th of September 1919 after the First World War, the Economic Union Treaty with Belgium was concluded two years later because France opposed an economic link with Luxembourg. One of the most important measures of the customs union, abbreviated UEBL, was the pegging of the Belgian and Luxembourg francs. The exchange rates of the two currencies were thus the same until they were replaced by the Euro in 2002. The treaty establishing the UEBL was signed in Brussels on the 25th of July 1921, entered into force on the 22nd of December 1922 and became a precursor to the Benelux Economic Union. A new agreement aimed at bringing the provisions of the Treaty into line with those of the European Union was signed in 2002 and published in the Moniteur belge on the 6th of January 2005. The new text also takes into account the new distribution of powers in the Belgian federal state by being co‐signed by the three Belgian regions. It also extends the scope of Belgian‐Luxembourg cooperation beyond the economic objective by providing for increased cooperation in international institutions and the intensification of relations in the fields of development aid, defence and peacekeeping. The first Belgian 2‐Euro commemorative coin of 2005 was already dedicated to the Belgium‐Luxembourg Economic Union (originally even planned as a joint issue with Luxembourg). The coin design of 2021 by Luc Luycx again shows the portraits of the heads of state of both states, the now reigning Belgian King Philippe (front) and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (back). The outlines of both states shown above are marked with the abbreviations "BE" and "LUX". The occasion of issue is inscribed in vertical letters in English "ECONOMIC UNION", below are the dates "1921" and "2021" in two lines, and to the left of them the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten and the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele. The initials "LL" of the designer appears at the bottom right.

🔎		Belgium	27 Oct. 2021	500th anniversary of the issuance of the Carolus guilder	20002 20007 20008	155,000	•
	Description : Charles V (1500‐1558), a member of the Habsburg dynasty, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1506 and from 1516, as Carlos I, King of Spain and its overseas colonies, more precisely of Castile, León and Aragon in personal union. In 1520, he was crowned Roman‐German king by Archbishop Hermann V von Wied of Cologne in the imperial cathedral of Aachen and emperor by Pope Clement VII in Bologna in 1530. Under his reign, the economy prospered. It is therefore no coincidence that Charles V laid a number of cornerstones of today's coinage. In 1521, new types of coins were issued along with a new denomination, including the golden Charles florin, whose value corresponded to the average wage for four days' work of a Brussels master bricklayer. It depicts Charles V, beardless with long hair, wearing his armour and holding his sword and orb. The inscription reads "KAROLVS▪D:G▪ROMANOR▪IMP▪Z▪HISPAR▪REX" (Latin: KAROLVS Dei Gratia ROMANORum IMPerator et HISPAnoRum Rex = Charles by the Grace of God Emperor of the Romans and King of the Spanish). In 1524, the Charles florin also became the unit of account (imperial coinage). Because of the size of his empire, state interventionism and centralism, Charles V is considered by some to be the "Father of Europe". The silver Charles florin, introduced in 1543, was depicted on a Belgian "ECU" in 1987. The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows the effigy of Charles V on the right as a side‐inverted detail of the copy painted (after a lost original by Titian) by Peter Paul Rubens Portrait of Carlos V and Isabel de Portugal, now in the Liria Palace in Madrid. The chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece with the golden ram's skin as pendant is, however, depicted differently than in the original. Below it is written "CAROLUS V" (Charles V) as the occasion of issue. A golden Charles guilder is depicted at the top left, with the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and "2021" for the year of issue below it. At the bottom left is the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele as the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele and to the right the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten, as well as the designer's signet "LL" at the bottom.

🔎		Belgium	17 May 2022	Publicly funded health care	20003 20005	155,000	•
	Work in progress

🔎		Belgium	01 Jul. 2022	35th anniversary of the Erasmus Program	20003 20005 20009	1,000,000	•
	Description : ERASMUS is a backronym for EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. The ERASMUS exchange programme is aimed at EU citizens who have been studying at a university for at least one year and supports a three to twelve‐month stay abroad at a university within the EU, or an internship. In addition, there are master's and doctoral programmes, programmes for young entrepreneurs, for school education, vocational training and adult education. Internships as well as professional development measures are financially supported and language courses abroad are also made possible for working people. The backronym refers to the Dutch philosopher and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (∼1466‐1536), described as "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists", depicted after a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger created in 1523. The French coin designer Joaquin Jimenez, whose initials "J.J." appear next to Erasmus' pen, has designed as a background a network of connecting lines between the twelve stars arranged in a circle and symbolising Europe, which is intended to represent the manifold intellectual and human exchanges between European students. By relieving some partial areas between the connecting lines, the numbers 3 and 5 emerge, referring to the 35th anniversary of the programme. In a block of three to four lines of lettering arranged in a quarter circle at the bottom right, the commemorative period is written as "1987-2022" (the last number also designating the year of issue) below the occasion of issue, followed by the name of the issuing state, if this does not consist of an abbreviation placed in the centre of the motif. National characteristics : The country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) is placed centrally below the centre line. The quarter circle at the bottom right has three lines; below the commemorative period, the issue occasion "ERASMUS PROGRAMME". At the bottom on the left sleeve, the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele is depicted on the left as the logo of mint master Ingrid Van Herzele, and to the right of it the staff of Hermes as the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten. The coin is one of those with a more textured background.

🔎		Belgium	20 Jun. 2023	Year of Art Nouveau	20003 20008 20009	155,000	•
	Description : At the end of the 19th century, the Belgian architect Victor Horta (1861‐1947) was one of the early pioneers of the stylistic revolution of Art Nouveau, characterised by open floor plans, the guidance of light through the building structure and the brilliant combination of curved decorative lines with the load‐bearing structures of the buildings. Steel and glass were used as new building materials. Through the rational use of metal structures, sometimes openly visible, sometimes cleverly concealed, Horta created living areas flooded with light and air, directly adapted to the personality and needs of their inhabitants. The imaginative interiors are characterised by decorative motifs that flow seamlessly from the mosaic floors to the wall paintings, and also by decorative elements made of wrought iron and custom‐made pieces of furniture. Four of the Brussels townhouses designed by Victor Horta were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000. They take up the traditions of upper middle‐class townhouses and stately private villas and combine residential and representational functions, which require a skilful organisation of the various areas of use and their access. For this purpose, Horta used the two‐part building type, whose two parts are connected by a glass‐roofed circulation area that can be used as a winter garden. Above all, nature was an important source of inspiration for Art Nouveau, as the generous use of plant and flower motifs and the many depictions of birds show. In 1893, Victor Horta completed the 'Tassel House' designed for Émile Tassel. 130 years later, Brussels calls itself the 'Capital of Art Nouveau' and dedicates a varied cultural programme to this anniversary. The coin, designed by Iris Bruijns, shows a detail of the façade of the house built in 1895 for Baron Edmond van Eetvelde, an asymmetrical wall decoration above the Beletage designed by Victor Horta. At the top, the issue occasion "ART NOUVEAU", in the middle the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and below it the year of issue "2023". On the left, an aster blossom in front of an alder meyer flask represents the Belgian mintmaster's mark of Giovanni Van de Velde, and below it and an Hermes staff the mint mark of the Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten. On the right are the designer's initials "IB".

🔎		Belgium	25 Oct. 2023	75 Years of Women's Suffrage in Belgium	20003 20005	130,000	•
	Work in progress

		Belgium	15 Jan. 2024	Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024	20003	155,000	•
	Work in progress

References :
20001	Images taken with authorisation by the ECB ‐ Mail dated 20.Feb.2020 © "European Central Bank"	20002	Data mirrored from Wikipedia Page "2_euro_commemorative_coins" with friendly support of the guardians of that page.
20003	Images taken with authorisation by H....... Hamburg	20004	Coloured version of this Commemorative Coin in circulation EU‐legal‐technical specifications do not recongnise colour prints. The EU nevertheless tolerates them, as their numbers are very small and they are sold in special packs and therefor are very unlikely to be used as currency.
20005	enlarged Images taken with authorisation by Gerd Seyffert © "Gerd Seyffert 2021"	20006	Not Applicable
20007	Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg © "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"	20008	enlarged Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg © "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"
20009	Text with kind permission by Gerd Seyffert © "Gerd Seyffert 2023"	20010	Not Applicable