What is LUF currency
The Luxembourg franc (F or ISO LUF, Luxembourgish: Frang) was the currency of Luxembourg between 1854 and 1999 (except during the period 1941-’44). The franc remained in circulation until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. During the period 1999–2002, the franc was officially a subdivision of the euro (€1 = 40.3399F) but the euro did not circulate. Under the principle of “no obligation and no prohibition”, financial transactions could be conducted in euros and francs, but physical payments could be made only in francs, as euro notes and coins were not available yet.
The franc was subdivided into 100 centimes.
LUF Coins
The first coins were issued in 1854, in denominations of 2+1⁄2, 5 and 10 centimes. In 1901, the bronze 5- and 10-centime pieces were replaced by cupro-nickel coins. In 1915-1916, zinc 5-, 10- and 25-centime coins were issued by the occupying German forces. After the First World War, iron coins were issued in the same denominations before cupronickel was reintroduced in 1924, along with nickel 1- and 2-franc coins. The franc coins bore the inscription “Bon Pour”, implying that they were tokens “good for” 1 or 2 francs. Such inscriptions also appeared on contemporary French and Belgian coins.
In 1929, Luxembourg’s first silver coins since the late 18th century were issued, 5 and 10 francs. Bronze 5, 10 (smaller than earlier issues) and 25 centimes and nickel 50 centimes were introduced in 1930. The last coins before World War II were cupronickel 25-centime and 1-franc pieces issued in 1938 and 1939.
The first coins issued after the war were bronze 25-centime and cupro-nickel 1-franc coins introduced in 1946. These were followed by cupronickel 5-franc coins in 1949. In 1952, the size of the 1-franc (€0.02) coin was reduced to match that of the Belgian 1-franc coin introduced in 1950. From this time on, all new Luxembourg coins matched the sizes and compositions of their Belgian counterparts, although the 25-centime (€0.01) coin was not changed to match the Belgian counterpart introduced in 1964. In 1971, nickel 10-franc (€0.25) coins were introduced, followed by bronze 20-franc (€0.50) coins in 1980 and nickel 50-franc (€1.24) coins in 1987. The size and composition of the 1- and 5-franc coins were again altered in 1988 and 1986 respectively to match their Belgian counterparts.
A combination of being a small population and with Belgian coins so abundantly circulating in Luxembourg meant it was seldom necessary for Luxembourg to issue coinage on a year by year basis, especially in later years during design changes when large numbers of coins were minted in Brussels to supply the small country for many years at a time. As a result, some dates appear in mint sets only while many other dates saw no standard issue coins minted at all. Many earlier dates changed frequently with larger denominations often being single year designs.
LUF Banknotes
Before the First World War, notes were issued by the International Bank in Luxembourg and the National Bank, denominated in Thaler, Mark and, occasionally, francs, with an exchange rate of 1 franc = 80 Pfennig (the relative gold standards would have implied a rate of 1 franc = 81 Pfennig) used on bi-currency notes.
In 1914, State Treasury notes were issued. The first series was denominated in francs and Mark but these were the last Luxembourg notes to feature the German currency. Denominations were of 1, 2, 5, 25 and 125 francs (80 Pfennig, 1.6, 4, 20 and 100 Mark). In 1919, a second series of State Treasury notes was issued, with new denominations of 50 centimes and 500 francs. In 1923, the International Bank in Luxembourg issued the first of several types of 100-franc notes which continued until the 1980s. In 1932, the state introduced 50-franc notes, followed by 1000-franc notes in 1940.
In 1944, following liberation, the franc was reintroduced with a new series of notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs. The 5-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1949, followed by the 10-franc notes in 1971, the 20-franc notes in 1980 and the 50-franc notes in 1987.
In 1985, the Monetary Institute of Luxembourg took over paper money issuance from the government and issued the first post-war 1000-franc notes {€24.79}. These were followed by 100-franc notes {€2.48} in 1986 and 5000-franc notes {€123.95} in 1993.