Belgium · 500 years of coin issues by Charles V

Issue date27 Oct 2021

Total mintage155,000

EU maximum155,000

Editions4

Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted

InscriptionCAROLUS V / BE / 2021 / LL

DesignerLuc Luycx

mintKoninklijke Nederlandse Munt, Utrecht

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 500th anniversary of the publication of the decree on the second coin-issuance period during the reign of Charles V. The design shows a portrait of Charles V. with the inscription “CAROLUS V” and the gold gulden coins of Charles V issued at the time. Charles V.’s pursuit of uniformity and centralization was also reflected in this coin series; the gulden of Charles V. was later depicted on some ECU coins, with the ECU being the predecessor of the euro.

The design

The gold Karlsgulden is one of the most famous coins. Charles V’s pursuit of uniformity and centralization was also expressed in this coin series. Almost 500 years after the introduction of the silver Karlsgulden by Charles V, it was depicted on some ECU coins. The ECU (short for the English “European Currency Unit”, meaning “European monetary unit”) was the predecessor of the euro.

The national side of the coin shows a portrait of Charles V in the inner coin ring, with “CAROLUS V” below it. On the left is a depiction of the 500-year-old gold Karlsgulden, which was issued under the ordinance on the second coin issuance period during the reign of Charles V. As the Royal Dutch Mint will mint the coins, the mint mark of Utrecht, a caduceus, and the mark of the Belgian mint master, the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele, appear side by side at the bottom. The initials LL of the coin designer Luc Luycx appear at the bottom centre. The country code BE and the year of issue 2021 are located on the left side of the inner coin ring. The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer coin ring.

Background on the topic

At the time of the 1521 ordinance, Belgium did not yet exist as an independent state. Most of the territory of the present-day Kingdom belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands, an association of duchies, counties and lordships, each with its own rights and administrative traditions. Charles was, among other titles, Duke of Brabant and Count of Flanders there. He was born in Ghent in 1500 and initially grew up in the Netherlands.

Through inheritances, Charles united territories that lay far apart: the Burgundian possessions in the Netherlands, the Spanish kingdoms with their overseas territories, and the Austrian hereditary lands. In 1519, he was elected King of the Romans; later, he bore the imperial title. However, his realm was not a unified state but consisted of countries with different laws, taxes and currency systems. In 1555, he transferred the government of the Netherlands to his son Philip in Brussels.

The term “coin issuance period” used for the occasion does not refer in numismatics to a single coinage, but to a phase of coin production defined by regulations. Such ordinances governed, among other things, which denominations could be struck, as well as their weight, precious-metal content and value ratio. In the economically closely connected Dutch territories, this was intended to facilitate payments and strengthen control over the mints. The gold Carolusgulden had a fixed value of 20 Stuivers. This unit of account continued to shape monetary transactions in the Netherlands for a long time.

Charles V is also an obvious subject for a coin commemorating Belgium because his biography is closely connected with Ghent and Brussels. The ordinance also represents an early standardisation of coinage in a politically fragmented region. The choice of theme therefore combines the specific anniversary with the history of the Habsburg Netherlands and their supraregional trade and currency relations.