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Sunday 2 October 2022

2522) Red Star Line Shipping Company, Belgium: 150th Anniversary of founding of Red Star Line (1872-2022): A 20 Euro Silver Coin commemorates the Milestone: Date/Year of Coin issue: 28.09.2022:

2522) Red Star Line Shipping Company, Belgium: 150th Anniversary of founding of Red Star Line (1872-2022): A 20 Euro Silver Coin commemorates the Milestone: Date/Year of Coin issue: 28.09.2022:

The Header/Banner showcases the Obverse and Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Coin against a background image of the "SS Belgenland". 

The Royal Mint of Belgium has issued on 28.09.2022 new silver Proof coins which commemorate the inauguration of the Red Star Line Shipping Company, which was founded in 1872 by shipping magnates from the United States and two Antwerp business partners, Jules Bernard von der Becke and William Edward Marsily. 

The coins have been minted by the Royal Dutch Mint (RDM) at their facilities in Houten, Netherlands, on behalf of the Royal Belgian Mint. 

The Red Star Line (RSL) Shipping Company:

Red Star Line (RSL) was a Belgian Shipping Company that was founded in 1872 by the merger of the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belge-Américaine (SANBA or Public Limited Company for Belgian-American Shipping) on the Antwerp side and the International Navigation Company on the American side.

Originally, the ships from America brought oil with them and took passengers from Antwerp back with them.

From 1873 onwards, only passengers were transported in first, second and third classes.

In the beginning, RSL sailed with sailing tankers such as the "Vaderland". 

This steamship had three masts with a low superstructure and a chimney. It was not comfortable to make the crossing with this. The ship departed weekly (on Saturdays) from Antwerp to New York and later also from Antwerp to Philadelphia and vice versa. 

Intermediate stops in Liverpool and Southampton in the United Kingdom were also offered.

The glory days were in 1913 - at that time, Red Star Line carried more than 70,000 passengers in third class alone

In all, between 1873 and 1934, about two million emigrants made the crossing with Red Star Line. More than a quarter of them had a Jewish background.

Between 1872 and 1934 RSL had a fleet of approximately 55 ships

On an average, a ship lasted 19 years. 

RSL generally gave its ships names ending in '–land'. 

From 1879 more passenger ships were used and the travel comfort increased. 

Famous passengers who took a one-way or return ticket included: Irving Berlin (1893), Eleanor Roosevelt (1929), Douglas Fairbanks (1931) and Albert Einstein (1930 and 1933).

The shipping company did not survive the effects of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and was declared bankrupt in 1935

The last two remaining ships moved to Rotterdam and were used for the Holland-America Line.

Present Day:

Presently, the history of the Red Star Line is kept alive by the museum of the same name in Antwerp.

The museum is located in the old pavilions of the Red Star Line near the port of Antwerp. 

It was opened on 28.09.2013

The main design within the museum are the stories of the passengers of RSL who have travelled to America or Canada. 

Through six witness reports, the visitor is guided from the travel agency in Warsaw to the new life in America. 

In this way, one can get an impression of the arduous journey that an emigrant of that time had to make in order to hopefully find a better future. The exhibition also indicates the link between the past and the present, to indicate that migration is universal and timeless.

The Silver Coin:

The Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin shows a representation of the SS Belgenland, this luxury cruise ship sailed from 1923 to 1934 for Red Star Line.

On the coin, the ship sails from the logo of the Belgian shipping company - "The star", which is flanked on the left by the Antwerp skyline and on the right by that of New York.

 Below the sailing ship is the commemorative text in English "150 YEARS". 

The Obverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin depicts an effigy of King Philip, facing right along with his crowned monogram placed at centre right and the peripheral text which reads "BELGIE – BELGIQUE – BELGIEN", (representing the official three languages of Belgium). 

The denomination of "20 EURO" is placed below the primary design, and the year of issue "2022" is shown in a vertical direction. 

This is the first time that the king has figured on a collector's coin on the face value side. 

The specifications of the Silver Coin are:

Country of issue: Belgium; Date/Year of issue: 28.09.2022; Coin Theme: "Red Star Line Shipping Company"; Denomination: 20 Euro; Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Silver (Ag); Diameter/Size: 37.00 mm; Weight: 22.80 grams; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mintage: 2,500 pieces; Minted ByRoyal Dutch Mint (RDM) at their facilities in Houten, Netherlands; On Behalf Of: The Royal Belgian Mint; Designers(Reverse) was designed by Iris Bruijns and (Obverse) was designed by Luc Luycx. In Luc Luycx's design, King Philippe looks to the right where his monogram is also depicted. 

Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA)












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