80 Years of Farewell to the 2 ½ cents 1941 in Coincard

The Royal Dutch Mint looks back on a very special denomination from Dutch numismatic history: the last original historical 2 ½ cents coin from 1941. This year it’s 80 years ago that you could find this coin in your wallet. The numismatic coincard is available in a very limited mintage, so be quick!
 
The 2 ½ Cents
The first 2 ½ cents coin in the Netherlands was minted in 1877 under King William III. The last regular bronze 2 ½ cents left the Rijksmunt in 1941, 80 years ago now. As a tribute to the special denomination, an original bronze 2 ½ cents coin will be reissued in coincard in 2021.
 
The 2 ½ cents are known by many names: “halve stuiver”, “vierduitstuk” en “plak”. It is clear where the term “halve stuiver” comes from: 2 ½ is after all half of 5 (5 cents was called a “stuiver”). The name “vierduitstuk” refers to the historical value of the coin: a “duit” was worth 1/8 stuiver, so a 2 ½ cent coin had a rate of four “duiten”. The coin was given the nickname “plak” (slab) it was for a long time the largest bronze coin in our country. Unconsciously, the 1941 coin has remained the last regular issue of the 2 ½ cents. At the time of WWII, the coin was struck in a zinc variant.
 
A Classic Design
Bronze is a base metal. At the time, the image of the reigning monarch was not allowed to appear on a base coin issue. Thus, the obverse shows a lion with open crown with sword and bundle of arrows and the reverse shows a 2 ½ cents in between two orange branches tied together. The orange branches and letters of the 1941 coin are larger compared to issues from previous years. The coin shows the mint mark (the Mercury staff) and the privy mark (a bunch of grapes). The coin is also struck in the traditional mint, meaning that the side with the denomination is sealed “upside down” in the coincard.