Fans of the national Belgian national football team, the Red Devils, and indeed medal winners of all hues, can from now on fill their shelves with a new collectible item: the €2.5 coin struck as a tribute to the Red Devils. A little smaller than its two-euro cousin, the gold coin is also a legal means of payment throughout the entire country. The information was stated on Wednesday by the PR agency, LVTPR Benelux.
On the reverse side, the countries of the EU are engraved next to the coin’s value, as is our country name in the three official languages, Dutch, French and German. On the front face of the coin, the logo of the Royal Belgian Football Association (known as the “URBSFA”) merges into a semi-circular ‘football’, surrounded by the inscription “Red Devils” written in four languages together the team’s famous three-pronged fork. In total, 500,000 such coins will be supplied, each within a box depicting the players in their new shirts.
The currency is now being struck in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, by the Royal Dutch Mint (known in the Netherlands as the “KNM”) and can, in theory, be used to make purchases anywhere in Belgium. The Executive Director of the KNM, Vincent van Hecke, concedes, “It is official currency.” However, he goes on to state that there is only a “very slim chance” that it will be used as such.
Gérard Linard, the President of the URBSFA, believes, “These coins symbolize the population’s significant attachment to our players.” He goes on, “I hope that the coins bring us good fortune at the World Cup in Russia.” For 10 euros, commemorative-coin and football lovers can reserve the brass coin exclusively on piecescommemoratives.be.
The Brussels Times
