2006 Belgium €10 Silver Proof "Marcinelle"

• Mint: Royal Belgian Mint
• Denomination: €10
• Quality: Proof
• Issue limit: 50,000 pcs.
• Alloy: 92.5% Sterling Silver
• Diameter: 33.00 mm
• Weight: 18.75 grams
• Box/Capsule: No/Blister
• Certificate: Printed Folder

On the morning of August 8, 1956, a fire in the mines of Marcinelle left 262 out of a possible 274 miners dead. A wrongly placed mining wagon on the elevator cage hit an oil pipe, and indirectly the electricity lines when the elevator started moving. This caused a fire, which trapped the miners working in the galleries. Among the victims there were 136 Italians, 95 Belgians, 8 Poles, 6 Greeks, 5 Germans, 5 Frenchmen, 3 Hungarians, 1 Englishman, 1 Dutchman, 1 Russian and 1 Ukrainian.

In the resulting prosecution, the trial court acquitted all the accused on October 1, 1959. An appeal was lodged, and on January 30, 1961, the court gave the mine manager a 6-month suspended jail sentence and a small fine, and acquitted the other defendants.

The obverse shows a portrait of a miner, with the mine "Bois du Cazier" in the background.