Belgium 1863 5 centimes

from the Stack's Bowers 2022 Collector's Choice sale, lot 73084

This specimen was lot 73084 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2022), where it sold for $120. The catalog description^[1] noted, "BELGIUM. 5 Centimes, 1863. Brussels Mint. Leopold I. NGC MS-67. Pop: 3, none graded finer by NGC. A frosty and gray toned coin with fully original surfaces." This type of 1861-64 superseded the copper five centimes that had been struck since independence in the 1830's. Copper-nickel as a coinage alloy matured and became very popular in the 1860's and drove out the last of the billon coinage.

Recorded mintage: 16,055,000 including 1863/2.

Specification: 2.95 g, copper-nickel, 19.5 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM 21.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The February 2022 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients & World Coins, Featuring Selections from the Kings Norton Mint Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

• 1860 copper 5 centimes
• 1861 centime
• 1861 copper-nickel 20 centimes
• 1862 5 centimes
• 1863 10 centimes
• 1864 5 centimes
• Coins and currency dated 1863