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1000 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1000 Francs (1000 BEF) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on pale paper with a red underprint. Allegorical vignettes frame the central text field: Minerva seated at left and Mercury at right, with a cherub at each corner; the Royal Arms of Belgium appear at bottom center within a laurel cartouche. Two circular ink stamps are visible at the lateral margins. The note is printed in mirror image, as the design reads correctly only when held to the light, a characteristic security feature of this early issue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Red mirror-image print on reverse aligned with the black obverse design, creating a superimposed security image when the note is held to the light. |
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| Comments |
One of the earliest high-denomination notes issued by the Banque Nationale de Belgique after its founding in 1850, this 1000 Francs represents serious money for its time — roughly equivalent to several months' wages for a skilled tradesman. The bank was only a year old when this note was printed, still establishing the institutional credibility necessary to make large-denomination paper acceptable to a mercantile class that remained skeptical of fiduciary currency.
Léopold Wiener was primarily a medallist and engraver, best known for his work on Belgian coinage, which makes his involvement here notable. The mirror-image counter-print security device — an intaglio impression on the reverse that reads correctly only when held to light — was a relatively sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measure for the period.