20 Centimes – Belgium

In 1953, Belgium's currency situation was fundamentally shaped by the post-war Bretton Woods system, which pegged the Belgian franc to the US dollar and, by extension, to gold. The country had undergone a significant monetary reform in 1944, the Gutt Operation, which had successfully purged the economy of excess wartime liquidity and stabilized the franc. By the early 1950s, this provided a solid foundation, but the nation faced persistent challenges related to its external balance and the value of its currency within the fixed exchange rate framework.

The primary issue was a structural current account deficit, exacerbated by the need to import raw materials for reconstruction and the competitive pressures within the newly forming European Coal and Steel Community. While Belgium's reserves were relatively healthy, the deficit fueled concerns about the franc's stability and led to periodic speculative pressures. The government and the National Bank of Belgium were committed to maintaining the parity of 50 Belgian francs to one US dollar, a rate established in 1946, which required careful management of monetary policy and foreign exchange reserves.

To address these imbalances, Belgian authorities prioritized export-led growth and maintained a strict anti-inflationary policy. This approach, emphasizing fiscal discipline and wage moderation, aimed to restore competitiveness without devaluing the franc. The situation in 1953 was thus one of cautious stability, with the currency holding its official parity but under constant scrutiny due to trade weaknesses. This period set the stage for Belgium's later economic modernization and its deeper integration into European monetary arrangements in the decades to follow.