Belgium Euro Coins

Belgium became a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957, and Brussels is home to many key European institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament. As one of the EU's founding members and the self-styled "capital of Europe", there is great support for EMU in Belgium. Belgians are used to the idea of monetary union, having shared a currency with Luxembourg since 1920. The euro's popularity is undisputed, with 70 per cent in favour of EMU, according to a survey in 1999.

The national designs on the Belgian euro coins represent elements of the coins previously in circulation. A national panel made up of leading Belgian officials, artists and experts in numismatics chose the motif used on all the coins. The Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins: the portrait or effigy of King Albert II of Belgium and his royal monogram (a capital 'A' underneath a crown). Also part of the design by Jan Alfons Keustermans (Director of the Municipal Academy of Fine Arts of Turnhout) are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.

In 2002, two Polish statisticians performed an experiment that indicated that the Belgian €1 coin lands on heads more often than tails when spun on a table. However, their result, 140 heads out of 250 flips, is not significant, since the probability of a result this extreme or more extreme is more than 6%. Please take a look at The Belgian National Mint.

The Belgian 2 euro coin edge inscription

Edge
The sequence "2 * *" repeated six times alternately upright and inverted

Mintmarks on Belgian euro coins

King's monogram	Archangel St. Michael	1999–present (€2 commemorative coins), 2008–present (standard issue euro coins)	January 2009	June 2012
Monogram King Alberto's royal monogram, an "A" under a crown	St. Michael Head of archangel St. Michael, patron saint of Brussels	Scale Representing the Belgian Royal Mint director, Romain Coenen	Feather Representing the Belgian Royal Mint director, Serge Lesens	Cat (Gillard's pet) Representing the Belgian Royal Mint director, Bernard Gillard

Prior to 2008, the Head of archangel St. Michael only appeared on commemorative issues

2008 Redesign

In 2008, Belgium made a slight modification to the design of its national sides in order to comply with the common guidelines recommended by the European Commission. The new national sides continued to bear the effigy of His Majesty Albert II, King of the Belgians, encircled by twelve stars, but the royal monogram and the date of issuance featured in the inner part of the coin – not in the outer ring – together with two new elements: the mint marks and the abbreviation of the country name (‘BE’).

2014 Redesign

As of 2014, the second series of the Belgian coins show, on every denomination, the effigy of the new Head of State His Majesty Philippe, King of the Belgians, in profile to the right. To the left of the effigy, the indication of the issuing country "BE" and on top of it the royal monogram. Under the effigy, the mint master mark at the left and the mint mark at the right flank the year of issuance.