Belgium

2021

Commemorative coin

The 500th anniversary of the appearance of the ordinance of the second period of coin issuance during the reign of Charles V

Official Journal of the European Union

The most famous coin is the Golden Carolus Guilder. Charles V’s pursuit of uniformity and centralization was also expressed in this series of coins. Almost 500 years after Charles V introduced his silver Carolus guilder, he was depicted on some ECU coins. The ECU, standing for European Currency Unit, was the forerunner of the euro. The national side of the coin depicts in the inner part of the piece the portrait of the Charles V, together with the text Carolus V. At the left you can find the 500 year old golden Carolus guilder, issued after the ordinance of the second period of coin issuance during the reign of Charles V. As the Royal Dutch Mint will strike the coins, the mintmark of Utrecht, a mercury staff is located on the bottom together with the Belgian mint director mintmark, the coat of arms of the municipality Herzele. It also contains the initials LL, referring to the designer of the coin, Mr. Luc Luycx. The country code BE and the year mark 2021 are located on the left. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

Charles V (1500-1558), a member of the Habsburg dynasty, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1506 and from 1516, as Carlos I, King of Spain and its overseas colonies, more precisely of Castile, León and Aragon in personal union. In 1520, he was crowned Roman-German king by Archbishop Hermann V von Wied of Cologne in the imperial cathedral of Aachen and emperor by Pope Clement VII in Bologna in 1530. Under his reign, the economy prospered. It is therefore no coincidence that Charles V laid a number of cornerstones of today's coinage. In 1521, new types of coins were issued along with a new denomination, including the golden Charles florin, whose value corresponded to the average wage for four days' work of a Brussels master bricklayer. It depicts Charles V, beardless with long hair, wearing his armour and holding his sword and orb. The inscription reads "KAROLVS-D:G-ROMANOR-IMP-Z-HISPAR-REX" (Latin: KAROLUS Dei Gratia ROMANORum IMPerator et HISPAnoRum Rex = Charles by the Grace of God Emperor of the Romans and King of the Spanish). In 1524, the Charles florin also became the unit of account (imperial coinage). Because of the size of his empire, state interventionism and centralism, Charles V is considered by some to be the "Father of Europe". The silver Charles florin, introduced in 1543, was depicted on a Belgian "ECU" in 1987. The €2 commemorative coin shows the effigy of Charles V on the right as a side-inverted detail of the copy painted (after a lost original by Titian) by Peter Paul Rubens "Portrait of Carlos V and Isabel de Portugal", now in the Liria Palace in Madrid. The chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece with the golden ram's skin as pendant is, however, depicted differently than in the original.

Edge lettering

Designer