CINQ C

ENTS

FRANCS

500

500

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UCB

EMMA’S TREASURES

BUT WHO IS EMMA ?

In 1876, Emma was a very good customer of the Union de Crédit de Bruxelles, the bank that used to be here before the museum.

Emma often came here to get money, so she was very familiar with the building. She even had a safe deposit box in the bank’s basement. Unfortunately, she has forgotten the secret code. Can you help her to find it again ?

Follow in Emma’s footsteps and find out a lot about banks and money.Dear diary,I could not believe my eyes when I arrived at the bank this morning. All the customers were panicking. There were rumours that the bank could no longer give us back our savings. We were all afraid we would lose all the money we had put in the bank.Someone in the crowd shouted: “We will never see

our money back !” And I was just about to withdraw 500 Belgian francs from my account... When I heard this, I fainted..When I came round, my handbag had gone. It contained all my money and some personal belongings. But worst of all, I could not remember the code for my safe deposit box. .If only I could find my code again.15 December 1876

Help me find the code for my safe

deposit box

Have a quick look at Emma’s personal diary to find out how she forgot the code for her safe deposit box

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PANIC AT THE UNION DU CREDIT DE BRUXELLES

Find this picture in the museum. It tells the story of what happened to Emma.

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• GROUND FLOOR

• FIRST FLOOR

EMMA’S ROUTE 1

When the Union du Crédit de Bruxelles (Emma’s bank) got into difficulties in 1876, the National Bank helped to prevent it going bankrupt. It thus protected the customers’ savings.

Today, the National Bank still helps and supervises the banks to ensure we always get our money back.

The picture in your notebook is not the same.Find the 7 differences and draw a circle round them.

START

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To find the first digit in Emma’s secret code, you now have to do some arithmetic. Use the first digit in each of the numbers you have found and add them together.

(For example : if you find the number 47, use the first digit, i.e. the 4).

IN EMMA’S SAFE DEPOSIT BOX

Follow the route shown and go to position 2 on your plan. There you will find a line of safe deposit boxes along the wall.

People sometimes keep funny things in their safe deposit box. It is not only money that is valuable. For instance, a postcard may be of great sentimental value because it reminds us of a happy time in our life.

Below are various items that people might keep in their safe deposit box. Find them, and write the corresponding safe deposit box number against each item.

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..… + ..… + ..… =

The word that you have found is the name of our old currency. In those days, that currency was only used in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The artists who designed the banknotes often depicted various activities, such as mining, railways or agriculture.The banknotes also depicted famous Belgians such as kings or artists.

The National Bank used to ask famous artists to produce the designs for the banknotes that it printed.

Look at the designs displayed in the museum and find the various details shown in the photos below.Under each design you will find a letter with an explanation. Write down the letter of the corresponding design against each detail.

DID YOU KNOW…

If you arrange the letters in the right order you will find a word that is con-nected with the banknotes on display.

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BANKNOTES AND COINS

Use your audio guide to start the game “Issuing banknotes and coins”. Draw a circle round the day of the week when people are most likely to withdraw money from the ATMs.

Congratulations ! You have just found another digit in the code.

Even today, we very often use coins and notes to pay for small purchases. The National Bank of Belgium is the only bank in Belgium that can print banknotes and supply banknotes and coins to the other banks.

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The three security features that you have just replaced enabled Emma to tell whether her banknote was genuine.

1. To prevent anyone from producing counterfeit notes, three different people had to sign each banknote !

2. Also, when you asked the bank for a banknote, the teller detached it from a counterfoil book. In so doing, he cut a text into two, leaving one part of the note attached to the book. When you took the note back to the bank, the teller checked in the book to see whether the text corresponded to one of the parts. If the letters fitted perfectly, the banknote was genuine.

3. Finally, each banknote had a unique number.

HOW DO WE PROTECT BANKNOTES AGAINST COUNTERFEITING ?

Take a close look at the display cases and find the 500 Belgian franc note that Emma was hoping to obtain from the bank. Some parts of the banknote below have been blanked out…

Look for the three security features below and insert the right number in the corresponding space.

1. Signature2. Counterfoil book3. Serial number

Next, enter the missing items in the boxes.

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If you count the days of the week in order, what is the number of the day that you have circled ?

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

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Nowadays, euro banknotes have many security features.

On this 50 euro note, look for a security feature...that you can find by touch. that you can only see if you put the note in front of a light source.that changes if you tilt the note.

Put the correct figure in the corresponding space.

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Signature

Relief printing

Value in colour-changing ink

Watermark

Identification number

Portrait window Metal threadHologram

AND YOUR BANKNOTE ? 6

• FACE • BACK

Put your hand in the box underneath the sample of crisp paper. This is the material used to make banknotes.What is this material called ?

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7 THE STAIRCASE AT THE UNION DU CREDIT DE BRUXELLES

When Emma first visited the bank, she was very impressed by the grand staircase.

If you look around carefully, you will see some funny sculptures on the staircase : there are little devils, grimacing faces and even some skeletons watching you…

Which of these sculptures can you not see on the staircase ?Draw a line through it.

How many bees are there on the staircase ? That is the penultimate digit in the code !

Beneath the initials of the bank’s name (Union du Crédit) you will find a little bee.

Did you know…

that bees are a favourite symbol for banks ? Bees also appear on old coins. A bee symbolises working and saving.

8 L’EURO : LA MONNAIE DES EUROPÉENS

Emma trouverait difficile d’utiliser ses francs belges aujourd’hui. En effet, depuis 2002, la Belgique utilise des pièces et des billets en euros, et elle n’est pas le seul pays à le faire.

Écris le nom de chacun des pays qui utilisent l’euro à côté du bon drapeau.Fais une croix dans le pays où se trouve la Banque centrale européenne.

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7 THE EURO : THE CURRENCY OF EUROPEANS

Emma would find it difficult to use her Belgian francs nowadays. Since 2002, Belgium has used euro coins and notes, and is not the only country to do so.

Write the name of each country that uses the euro next to the correct flag. Put a cross in the country where the European Central Bank is located.

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1. MONEY AROUND THE WORLD

Did you know that in ancient times, tea was used for payments in China ? In olden times there were no coins, banknotes, bank cards or smart phones. Various things were used for making payments, things found in nature or things made by people. These surprising means of payment are known as commodity money.

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Box 1

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Box 2

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Box 3

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Box 5

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Box 4

Did you know…

Money is used :– to buy food and goods. It is a means of payment ;– to compare the prices of products. It is a unit

of account ;– to save. You can put money aside, in your piggy bank

or bank account, for buying something you want at a later date.

Put your hand in each box and for each one write down the material that you touched. Then draw a line linking the box to the commodity money made with that material.

Use the tablets to find out which material has been used for the commodity money that is displayed.

What is the number on the box containing the shells ?

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A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

What did coins and notes look like in the olden days ?

Travel through time and go in search of these characters and their means of payment. Have you found them ? Enter the letter of the means of payment under the right character.

10 The National Bank of Belgium has existed since 1850. The most important job of the Bank is to make sure prices of food and other things do not increase too much.

This way you can buy the same amount of something as you could the year before.

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Belgian franc coin

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Ducaton

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Drachma

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Triens

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Belgian franc note

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DenariusEuro banknote

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20021850–700 –200 500 1706 1846

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AT THE MONEY CHANGER’S

Emma has travelled a lot. Whenever she visited another country, she had to exchange her banknotes and coins because the Belgian franc was only used in Belgium (and Luxembourg). Professional money changers already existed in the Middle Ages.

Below you can see a money changer and his wife at work.

To find out a coin’s value, they weighed it very carefully. Money changing was no easy task.

The coins had to be weighed because their value depended on the weight of the gold or silver that they contained.

Let’s weigh it, Massimo.

What is this coin worth ?

Help Massimo, the money changer, to calculate the value of these coins and exchange them correctly. NB : you need to do exercise 1 before you can do exercise 2.

• FIND THE WEIGHT OF A STERLING

=1 denier = 1 gram

1 sterling = ……. grams

• HELP PIETER TO COUNT HIS DENIERS

Pieter needs some wool to make good quality blankets. John the shepherd sells the finest wool. John lives in England and charges 100 sterlings for his wool.

In order to pay John, Pieter must first go to Massimo the money changer to exchange his deniers for sterlings.

How many deniers will Pieter have to give Massimo to obtain 100 sterlings ?

100 sterlings= ……..… deniers ?

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1 sterling 5 deniers

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CARRY ON AT SCHOOL OR AT HOME

Can you discover the value of the euro note on which each bridge appears ?

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WRITE THE DIGITS OF THE SECRET CODE BELOW :

You have successfully deciphered Emma’s code.Now go to the reception area of the museum to

open the box and find your reward.

CONGRATULATIONS!

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What is it ?

Join the dots and find out who or what is hiding here.

NOTES

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Layo

ut :

BNB

AG

– P

repr

ess

& Im

age

National Bank of Belgium Museum Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères 57 1000 Brussels +32 (0)2 221 22 06Open Monday to Friday from 9.00 until 17.00.

www.nbbmuseum.be