2 francs - Leopold II - Wiener type in French

The coin's story

This silver 2 francs coin belongs to the French-language series struck from 1866 to 1868, at the beginning of the reign of Leopold II, King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. It is one of the first Belgian coins with the fineness of 835 thousandths set by the Latin Monetary Union, concluded on 23 December 1865 with France, Italy and Switzerland for the smaller silver denominations. The portrait is the work of Léopold Wiener (1823-1891), born in Venlo, who joined the Brussels Mint in 1847 and was chief engraver for more than forty years, and who signs L WIENER. The reverse bears the national motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Unity makes strength) around the arms. The 1867 date was struck in 3,789,000 pieces, the Aernout catalogue distinguishes several types according to the spacing of DES BELGES and the position of the hand on the reverse. The coin was demonetised on 30 July 1932.