Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de Belgique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881-1887 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Cotton paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in red and grey, centered on the denomination '50' repeated at upper left and upper right, with 'CINQUANTE FRANCS' in bold red letterpress across the centre and 'PAYABLES A VUE' below. Allegorical vignettes of classical figures are arranged symmetrically at left and right within an ornate engraved border, with the bank title 'BANQUE NATIONALE' at the top. The date and place of issue appear in the central field above the serial number, with two manuscript signatures of the Caissier and Gouverneur at the lower centre; this example is perforated 'ANNULE' cancellation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in light blue, with a central cartouche enclosed by elaborate guilloche scrollwork and a classical female head in relief at the top centre flanked by garland ornaments. Two allegorical putti or cherub figures are positioned at the far left and right margins, each rendered in fine intaglio line engraving against the pale blue ground. The overall composition is symmetrical and devoid of text apart from border ornament, consistent with the engraving style of Belgian State printing of the 1880s; this example bears perforated cancellation holes. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque Nationale de Belgique was established in 1850, and by the 1880s its note designs reflected the conservative graphic conventions of Belgian state printing — engraved in-house rather than contracted to the major foreign security printers that handled much of continental Europe's paper currency at the time. P#60 belongs to a period when Belgium was navigating the Latin Monetary Union's bimetallic tensions, and the 50 Franc denomination carried real transactional weight in daily commercial settlement.
Watermarking was the primary security measure — no serial numbering system of the complexity that would appear in later issues. Known examples show significant wear consistent with active commercial use rather than hoarding.