Belgium 2.5 Euro Coin 2024 “The Bee in Belgium” BU in Coincard NL

A very special coin issue...

Did you know that our country has some 400 bee species? Apart from being honey suppliers, bees are especially important pollinators. Without their busy contribution - and also that of bumblebees, butterflies and bats - our food security would be in jeopardy. Because without bees, there would be no coffee, nuts, vegetables, fruit or cotton.

Unfortunately, the global bee population has shrunk drastically in recent decades. Belgium is no exception. Intensive agriculture, encroaching urbanization and unreasonable pesticide use have taken their toll. Fortunately, numerous initiatives have been taken in recent years to revive the birth rate of our bee population. For instance, in 2017, the United Nations decided to declare 20 May as World Bee Day,  Bee Week starts on 26 May in Flanders and, awareness-raising actions such as Maai Mei Niet (Don’t Mow in May) are being organised. This will ensure more flowers and less grass in our gardens, so much more pollen can be produced for the bees. So you see: we can do something ourselves.

... which highlights our buzzing workers!

This second 2½ euro coin of 2024 emphasizes the ecological importance of our bees and at the same time reminds us of the urgent need to protect their unique biodiversity against the pollution of our environment and the derailment of our climate. The image side features a bee and a stylised cherry blossom with behind it the Belgian map in the form of a honeycomb. This map becomes more or less visible when you move the coin. The coin side shows the face value, the year and the European map, surrounded by the trilingual caption BELGIË-BELGIQUE-BELGIEN.