How to Identify the 20 Francs (Leopold II)

Read the Portrait First

Start with the obverse. A genuine Leopold II 20 francs shows the king in profile facing left as a mature man with distinctive curly hair and a full beard, encircled by a legend naming him king of the Belgians. The bearded, older-man portrait is the single most useful cue: it separates Leopold II from the clean-shaven or differently styled busts of Leopold I and of Belgium's later monarchs.

Confirm the Reverse Arms and Value

Turn the coin over and look for the crowned Belgian coat of arms, a shield with the rampant lion set within a laurel or oak wreath, together with the value 20 FR and a date such as 1878. If the reverse shows a seated figure, a plain denomination without the crowned shield, or a wreath without arms, you are looking at a different coin or country. The crown-over-shield-in-wreath layout is the signature of this type.

Check Size, Weight, and Metal

This is a small but dense gold coin: about 21 mm in diameter, roughly 6.45 grams total, struck in .900 fine gold. It should show a warm yellow-gold color, feel heavy for its small size, and be completely non-magnetic. A coin of this design that is oversized, lightweight, pale, or attracted to a magnet is a red flag for a fake or a gold-plated base-metal copy.

Note the Language Variety and Rule Out Look-Alikes

Belgian coins carry either French (BELGIQUE) or Dutch (BELGIE) legends; both are authentic and simply reflect the country's two languages. Do not mistake the same-sized French, Swiss, or Italian 20-franc gold coins for this issue: they share the Latin Monetary Union weight but show different rulers and reverses, so always match the Belgian arms and the Leopold II portrait together, not size alone.

Authentication Cautions

Because these are gold, they attract counterfeits, altered dates, and pieces removed from jewelry. Weigh and measure the coin, inspect the rim for solder marks or a mount scar, and compare the portrait and arms to trusted reference images, watching for soft detail, wrong weight, or seams that suggest a cast copy. Cleaning and polishing hurt value, so favor coins with original surfaces, and for any higher-value example consider third-party authentication.