20-franc Albert I coin in French

The coin's story

This 20 francs coin in 680 thousandths silver, struck in 1933 and 1934, is one of the last coins of the reign of Albert I, third King of the Belgians. Albert I took the oath on 23 December 1909 and succeeded his uncle Leopold II, who died without a son, during the First World War, he commanded the Belgian army and held the Yser line, which earned him the nickname of the “Knight King”. A passionate mountaineer, he died in a fall on the rocks of Marche-les-Dames on 17 February 1934. Like most Belgian coins of the time, the coin exists in a French version and a Dutch version, this one bears the legend ALBERT ROI DES BELGES. Both sides are the work of Godefroid Devreese (1861-1941), a sculptor and medallist who made more than 400 medals for the Royal Mint. The 1934 date was struck in 12,300,000 pieces in each language, and the coin was demonetised on 20 June 1947.