Belgium 20 Euro Coin 2022 “150 years Red Star Line” Silver Proof

Red Star Line (RSL) is a Belgian shipping company founded in 1872 by the collaboration of the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belge-Américaine (SANBA or Limited Company for Belgian-American Shipping) on the Antwerp side and the International Navigation Company on the American side.
 
Originally, the ships brought oil from America and took back passengers from Antwerp. From 1873, they carried only first-, second- and third-class passengers. RSL did initially still sail with sailing tankers such as the Vaderland. This steamship had three masts, a low structure 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 UK were also offered.
 
The glory days were in 1913; then Red Star Line carried over 70,000 passengers in third class alone. In total, between 1873 and 1934, some two million emigrants made the crossing with Red Star Line. Over a quarter of them were of Jewish background.
 
Between 1872 and 1934, RSL had a fleet of about 55 ships. On average, a ship lasted 19 years. RSL generally gave its ships names ending in '-land'. From 1879, more passenger ships were used and travel comfort went up. Famous passengers who took one-way or return trips 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 1929 Stock Market Crash and was declared bankrupt in 1935. The last two remaining ships moved to Rotterdam and were used for the Holland-America Line. 
 
Today, 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 September 2013. Main subject within the museum are the stories of RSL passengers who travelled towards America or Canada. Through six witness accounts, the visitor is led from the travel agency in Warsaw to the new life in America. In this way, one can get an impression of the arduous journey a land mover of the time had to make to hopefully find a better future. The exhibition also indicates the link between the past and the present, to show that migration is universal and timeless.
 
This silver Proof 20-euro coin not only features a beautiful obverse design, but also shows King Philip's portrait! Never before has the king graced a collector's coin on the face value side! In Luc Luycx's design, King Philip looks to the right where his monogram is also depicted. The obverse of the coin was designed by Iris Bruijns and shows a representation of the SS Belgenland, this luxury cruise ship sailed for Red Star Line from 1923 to 1934. On the coin, the ship sails from the Belgian shipping company's logo. The star is flanked on the left by the Antwerp skyline and on the right by that of New York.