Lot 303
Belgium - Baudouin I (1951-1993), Concours of 1985 - 5 Francs. Grispen 3613-A - 3622. Extremely Fine.
Series of uniface patterns, made by 5 artists (Jean-Paul Laenen, Emiel Hoorne, Paul Huybrechts, Rik Plaghki and André Gastmans). All are made in similor, on large planchets with plain edge. Extremely rare to find. A handfull of these are known to date.
Following the withdrawal from circulation of various coins and banknotes in the 1970s and 1980s, the issuance of a 20 franc coin and the planned demonetization of the 50 franc note, the composition and appearance of our monetary system were no longer really a model of coherence and uniformity. The government therefore decided to reform this system and, at the same time, to radically renew the engravings of our coins. The issue of a new 5 franc coin took place precisely at this time.
A restricted competition was then organised. On the recommendations of the Academy of Fine Arts, it began by establishing a list of 91 artists who were invited to take part in the competition. Only 28 of them submitted projects, of which 17 were selected and each received a sum of 20,000 francs. These 17 winners were invited to participate in a second round, during which they had to model their projects. A jury unanimously chooses Jean-Paul Laenen's project. In all, the projects of seven winners were selected and a series of six trials were struck.
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