Belgium

2014

Commemorative coin

100th anniversary of the start of the first World War

Official Journal of the European Union

The coin’s central field depicts a poppy above the years 2014-18. Below these years appears the inscription ‘The Great War Centenary’, under which are the signature mark of the Master of the Mint and the mark of the Brussels mint, a helmeted profile of the archangel Michael. The top of the central field features the trilingual inscription ‘BELGIE — BELGIQUE — BELGIEN’. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

"In Flanders' Fields" is one of the most famous English poems about the First World War. It was written on 3 May 1915 by the Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, whose friend had been killed the day before near Ypres. The poem describes the fields in Flanders, where the red flowering corn poppy reminds of the blood spilled by the fallen and yet nourishes the hope that life goes on. The poppy blossom has since become a symbol of the memory of fallen soldiers, and not only in English-speaking countries, and thus adorns the coin dedicated to the 100-year commemoration of the Great War, which will last from 2014 to 2018.

Edge lettering

Designer