Belgian Franc

The Belgian franc (BEF) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, known as centimes, centièmes or centiem. The franc was also the currency of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. These two countries later became known as Congo-Kinshasa and Rwanda-Burundi, respectively. The franc was introduced in 1832, when Belgium became independent from the Netherlands. The Dutch guilder was used up until that point. The franc replaced the Dutch guilder at par and was initially divided into 100 subunits, called centimes, centièmes or centiem. The franc was pegged to the French franc at a rate of 1 franc = 4.5 francs. This peg lasted until the Belgian franc was devalued in 1960 to a rate of 1 franc = 9.75 francs. The franc was again devalued in 1982 to a rate of 1 franc = 100 francs. The franc was replaced by the Euro in 2002, at a rate of 1 Euro = 40.3399 francs.