Description

Albert I (1875–1934) reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. This was an eventful period in the History of Belgium, which included the period of World War I (1914–1918), when 90 percent of Belgium was overrun, occupied, and ruled by the German Empire. Other crucial issues included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas possession of the Kingdom of Belgium along with the League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, the reconstruction of Belgium following the war, and the first five years of the Great Depression (1929–1934). King Albert died in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of 58, and he was succeeded by his son Leopold.

In 1926, the new government Jaspar works out a stabilizing program for the Belgian Franc. The introduction of the Belga currency was one of several components of the plan. One Belga was equal to 5 Belgian francs. In order to clearly distinguish this new Belgian valuta against the other currencies, especially the French Franc, all exchange operations had to be realised in Belga.

However, the Belgian Franc did not disappear, because the newly issued coins and notes always mentioned their value in both the Belga as the Belgian Franc currency. 1927 saw appearing the first notes mentioning both currencies and 3 years later ‘Belga-Franc’ coins appeared on the market.