2870) "Spirou" and "Fantasio" with their squirrel "Spip", Belgium: 85th Aniversary (1938-2023): The Royal Mint of Belgium (RMB) has issued two Coin variants of 5 Euro each - an embossed Variant and a Coloured Coin variant featuring the two adventurous journalists: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2023:
The inseparable duo "Spirou" and "Fantasio" is 85 years old!
The Information Card (IC) for the Relief issue
The Information Brochure (IB) for the Colour Coin
The Reverses and common Obverse of the two Coin Variants
In close coordination with the publisher - the "Royal Belgian Mint" (RBM), this vibrant energetic commemorative 5-Euro Coin has been issued in two Variants -an embossed variant and a coloured variant.
The Series featuring "Spirou" and "Fantasio":
The Series was created by French cartoonist Robert Velter (Rob-Vel) and later handed over to Jijé (he added Fantasio) and André Franquin (he added the Marsipulami and numerous other characters) respectively, under whom the series became truly successful.
Spirou & Fantasio ("Spirou et Fantasio"), is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics.
The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adventure comics like The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix. It has been written and drawn by a succession of artists.
Spirou and Fantasio are the series' main characters, two adventurous journalists who run into fantastic adventures, aided by Spirou's pet squirrel Spip and their inventor friend the Count of Champignac.
The comic strip was originally created by Rob-Vel for the launch of "Le Journal de Spirou" ("Spirou magazine") on 21.04.1938 and published by Éditions Dupuis.
The main character was originally an elevator (lift) operator for the "Moustique Hotel" (in reference to the publisher's chief magazine, "Le Moustique"), and remained dressed in his red bellhop uniform for a long time after the occupation was dropped.
Spirou (the name means "squirrel" and "mischievous" in Walloon) has a pet squirrel called "Spip", the series' first supporting character, who was introduced on 08.06.1939, in the story arc titled "L'Héritage de Bill Money" and liberated in the following week's issue (15.06.1939), remaining a presence in all Spirou stories since.
Adding to the difficulties of magazine publication that came with the outbreak of World War II, Velter joined the army effort, and his wife Blanche Dumoulin, using the pen name Davine, continued the work on the Spirou strip, with the aid of the young Belgian artist Luc Lafnet.
Spirou became the property of the publisher Dupuis who bought the character from Rob-Vel in 1943, and since then the series has belonged to no specific author. The title has therefore subsequently been passed on to several different artists and writers.
The first success came in 1943 when Joseph Gillain, known by the pen name Jijé, was given charge of the character.
In 1944 Jijé introduced a new character, Fantasio, who would become Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer.
Holding many artistic commitments at Spirou magazine, Jijé sought to delegate much of his work, and in 1946 he handed the series to his understudy, André Franquin, in the middle of the production of the story "Spirou et la maison préfabriquée".
Spirou and Fantasio:
Spirou once worked as a bellhop but is now a journalist. He is clever, inventive and very serious.
Very different from his faithful companion Piet Fantasio, also a reporter, who is more cautious but clumsy and sometimes a bit hot-tempered.
With their squirrel Spip, they battle criminals. Many of the stories are set wholly or partly in the fictional town of Rommelgem.
The duo does not live there themselves but are good friends with Pancratius Edelhart Ladislas Philippus Count of Rommelgem, an inventor with a passion for mushrooms.
Spirou and Fantasio also feature regularly in the comic series Guust, about the character Guust Flater, also created by Franquin.
The two Coins issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium (RMB):
- Available in two beautiful coin editions!
- The Royal Belgian Mint (RBM) is celebrating the 85th Anniversary (1938-2023) of the dynamic duo with a 5-euro coin issued in two variants: Relief and Colour.
The inscriptions on the Reverse read - "85 JAAR ANS" and "ROBBEDOES en KWABBERNOOT. SPIROU Et FANTASIO".
The inscriptions on the Obverse, which is common to all Euro issues reads - BELGIE. BELGIQUE. BELGIEN. 5 EURO. 2023".
Both coins feature on the Reverse the portraits of the jubilee reporters, accompanied by their squirrel Spip.
The Common Obverse for both variants
The colour 5 Euro Coin shows the birthday duo in the original colours of the albums and also comes in slightly different coincard packaging.
The specifications of the two Coin Variants are:
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For other interesting posts on issues from the Royal Dutch Mint, Netherlands and PostNL, please visit the following links:
10) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 Years of the first Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp Set issued by POstNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020
For interesting posts from the Caribbean Netherlands on this blog:
Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Posts on Finland on this Blog:
Posts on Sweden:
Dutch Castles Coin Series:
Links:
The undernoted two links will take you to our blog "Footloose" for two interesting posts written by me on the Dutch presence in Sadras in the 17th Century AD:
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
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Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Posts on Aruba on this blog:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
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Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
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Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
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DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
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