Belgium 5 Francs 1948-1951

The 1948 Belgian 5 Francs coin was struck using aluminum, a wartime expedient that persisted into peacetime to conserve scarce metals like copper and nickel.

This design choice reflected Belgium's hasty economic reboot after occupation, with the coin's simple obverse featuring the Belgian lion and the reverse showing the denomination. Mintage figures vary by year, but records from 1950 and 1951 are spotty, likely due to administrative chaos in the post-war mint.

Some collectors debate subtle variations in the lion's posture across strikes, though that's probably just metal flow differences.

Minting ended in 1951 as the economy stabilized, making these coins a footnote in numismatic history.

You'd think a lion on a coin would roar with symbolism, but it's just a cat on aluminum foil.