Belgian €2 commemorative coins 2005, Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.
Commemorative 2 euro coins from Belgium
Subject of commemoration: Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
Description of the design: The effigies of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and King Albert II of Belgium are depicted in profile (from left to right) in the centre of the coin, above the year of issue, 2005. The engraver's initials, ‘LL', appear to the lower right. The two effigies and the date are surrounded by the outer ring bearing the 12 stars of the EU and the monograms of Grand Duke Henri on the left and of King Albert II on the right. The mintmarks appear between two stars near the bottom of the coin.
Reverse: left from the coin centre face value: 2, on the right inscription: EURO; in the background of the inscription a map of Europe; in the background of the map vertically six parallel lines ending on both sides with five-pointed stars (the reverse is common for all euro coins)
Issuing volume: max. 6 million coins
Issuing date: First Date of Issue: 1 March 2005;
First Date of Circulation: 1 April 2005
Face value: 2 euro
Diameter: 25.75 mm
Weight: 8.50 g
Composition: BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel)
Quality: Proof, BU, UNC
Design: Luc Luycx is credited as the engraver for the Belgian 2005 €2 Euro Commemorative coin.
Designer / Engraver Inscriptions: Stylized initials of the engraver: 'LL'
€2 Edge Inscription: The Belgian €2 coin edge inscription is '2', followed by two stars, repeated six times alternately upright and inverted:
Mint Location: Monnaie Royale de Belgique/Koninklijke Munt van België (Royal Mint of Belgium), in Brussels, Belgium
Mint Marks: Mintmark of the Royal Mint of Belgium: the head of Archangel Michael with a cross on top. Located to the left side of the bottom left star, outer circle.
Mint Master Marks: Belgian Royal Mint director, Romain Coenen: scale.
Located to the right side of the bottom right star, outer circle.
Notes: This is the first €2 Commemorative Issue for Belgium.
Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union
The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (Dutch: Belgisch-Luxemburgse Economische Unie, French: Union économique belgo-luxembourgeoise, Luxembourgish: Belsch-Lëtzebuerger Wirtschaftsunion), abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an economic and monetary union between Belgium and Luxembourg, two countries in the Benelux economic union.BLEU was created by a treaty, signed on 25 July 1921, despite a referendum against such a proposal, between Belgium and Luxembourg, and came into effect upon ratification by the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies on 22 December 1922. The original treaty lasted for fifty years, expiring in 1972; this was extended for ten years in 1982 and again in 1992. On 18 December 2002, the two countries and the three regions of Belgium signed a new convention.
Under the terms of the treaty, the economic frontier was lifted and the Belgian franc and Luxembourgian franc were set at a fixed parity (though revised in 1935 and 1944). International trade statistics were available for BLEU only as a combined entity until 1999, when European Community rules required split information.
It has been seen as the forerunner of Benelux, which was established by the London Customs Convention and also includes the Netherlands.
While many aims of the BLEU have been subsumed by the European Union, it still has some relevance in being able to decide more precise measures within the more general boundaries of European level decisions.
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg OIH (given names: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume; born 16 April 1955) is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, and a first cousin of the current King of the Belgians, Philippe.
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II (born 6 June 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians, following his elder brother's death, from 1993 until his abdication in 2013. He is a member of the royal house of "Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is the uncle of the current reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri.On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet. He then announced that on 21 July, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son, The Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the fourth monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Emir Hamad bin Khalifa of Qatar. In doing so, he was also the second Belgian king to abdicate following his father, King Leopold III, who abdicated in 1951, albeit under very different circumstances.