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CC 441 2022
Coincard
BU Niederländisch
Coincard – Dutch version
Belgium · For care during the COVID pandemic
Mintage75,000
Issue price€10.00
Issue date11 May 2022
PackagingCoincard
Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted
Market price€16.90
Mintage information from source: Gesamt 150.000 · 1:1 auf NL/FR geteilt
Issue occasion
The commemorative coin honors the exceptional commitment of the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The design depicts a healthcare professional as well as the inscription “Danke – Merci – Dank u”. Also shown are a cross, a stethoscope, a heart, a hypodermic syringe, a wheelchair and a chemical mixture as symbols of the healthcare sector.
The design
The inner part of the coin depicts a healthcare worker. In the left half, the inscription “Thank you – Thank you – Thank you” and various symbols representing healthcare are shown: viewed from top to bottom, a cross, a stethoscope, a heart, an injection syringe, a wheelchair and a chemical mixture. On the far right, the initials of the coin designer Luc Luycx can be seen. As the coins are minted by the Königliche Niederländische Münze, the mint mark of Utrecht, a caduceus, is located on the left, together with the Belgian mint master’s mark, the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele, the country code BE and the year 2022.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Background on the topic
The COVID-19 pandemic reached Belgium at the beginning of 2020. After the global outbreak was classified as a pandemic in March, contacts, public events, and parts of economic and educational life were restricted. Hospitals had to create additional capacity for COVID-19 patients and adapt treatment procedures to a novel virus that was initially understood only to a limited extent. In addition to intensive care and emergency departments, care facilities, emergency services, general practitioners’ practices, laboratories, and pharmacies were particularly burdened.
In this situation, the healthcare system included not only doctors and nursing staff. Medical and technical personnel, cleaning staff, therapists, employees in home care, and many other occupational groups also maintained healthcare provision. At times, they worked amid staff shortages, with an increased risk of infection, and wearing protective clothing. At the same time, elective examinations and procedures were postponed, creating additional treatment needs after the acute waves of the pandemic.
Managing the pandemic was also a political and organisational task in Belgium. Responsibilities in the healthcare sector are divided between the federal state and the constituent states. As a result, hospital care, prevention, testing strategies, and vaccination campaigns, among other things, had to be coordinated between several levels of government. From 2021 onwards, vaccinations changed the way the pandemic was managed, while new virus variants continued to trigger waves of infection.
The use of Belgium’s three official languages refers to the country’s linguistic division into Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking communities. The thanks are thus expressly addressed to employees in all parts of the country.
The issue in 2022 came approximately two years after the beginning of the European pandemic waves. By this time, the efforts of healthcare personnel could already be honoured as a collective experience, although COVID-19 had not yet been overcome. The coin transfers the thanks expressed publicly on many occasions during the pandemic into an official commemorative symbol used in everyday payment transactions.
In this situation, the healthcare system included not only doctors and nursing staff. Medical and technical personnel, cleaning staff, therapists, employees in home care, and many other occupational groups also maintained healthcare provision. At times, they worked amid staff shortages, with an increased risk of infection, and wearing protective clothing. At the same time, elective examinations and procedures were postponed, creating additional treatment needs after the acute waves of the pandemic.
Managing the pandemic was also a political and organisational task in Belgium. Responsibilities in the healthcare sector are divided between the federal state and the constituent states. As a result, hospital care, prevention, testing strategies, and vaccination campaigns, among other things, had to be coordinated between several levels of government. From 2021 onwards, vaccinations changed the way the pandemic was managed, while new virus variants continued to trigger waves of infection.
The use of Belgium’s three official languages refers to the country’s linguistic division into Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking communities. The thanks are thus expressly addressed to employees in all parts of the country.
The issue in 2022 came approximately two years after the beginning of the European pandemic waves. By this time, the efforts of healthcare personnel could already be honoured as a collective experience, although COVID-19 had not yet been overcome. The coin transfers the thanks expressed publicly on many occasions during the pandemic into an official commemorative symbol used in everyday payment transactions.