2 euro BELGIUM (2011) Centenary of the International Women's Day

in the coin centre busts of Isala van Diest facing slightly right and of Marie Popelin facing slightly left; along the bottom edge: I. VAN DIEST, year of issue 2011 and M. POPELIN; behind van Diest's neck the Rod of Asclepius and behing Popelin's neck the Scales of Justice; in the background the Venus symbol; on top letters: BE (code of Belgium in ISO 3166-2 standard); at the edge a ring of twelve five-pointed stars - symbol of the European Union

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)

reeded with concave inscription:

3 V 2011

still in circulation

Luc Luycx (initials LL below letter 'O' in EURO on the reverse)

De Koninklijke Munt van België (in Dutch) / La Monnaie Royale de Belgique (in French) (The Royal Belgian Mint), Brussels (mintmark after BE on the obverse, before BE a privy mark of mint's chief Serge Lesens)

2011

5 000 000

+ 6 000 in boxed sets

 We are presenting below privy marks of The Royal Belgian Mint directors, which appear on Belgian coins of euro:

Romain Coenen	1988-2009		scale
Serge Lesens	2010-2012		feather
Bernard Gillard	from 2013		cat

The first festivities of a national Women's Day took place in the United States on February 28, 1909. On March 19, 1911 the Women's Day was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. It was thus the first international Women's Day. Belgians commemorated the centenary of this event by placing on the coin figures of the first Belgium female physician Isala van Diest (1842-1916) and the first Belgium female advocate Marie Popelin (1846-1913). Both of the ladies due to their sad experiences in their struggle for education and the right to work in traditionally male jobs became symbols of the feministic movement in Belgium.

Isala van Diest and Marie Popelin.