Belgium has begun to produce €2.50 coins to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat of at the Battle of Waterloo, after France forced it to scrap a €2 coin for the same purpose.
Earlier this year Paris objected to the new Belgian coin, commemorating the French emperor's defeat by British and Prussian forces, saying it would create tensions at a time when Europe's unity is under threat.
Belgium was forced to get rid of around 180,000 €2 coins that had already been minted after Paris sent a letter saying they could cause an "unfavourable reaction in France".
Belgium has managed to work around the French protests using a rule that allows Eurozone countries to unilaterally issue coins if they are in an irregular denomination, in this case, €2.50.
Napoleon Bonaparte was forced into exile after his ambitions were crushed by the Duke of Wellington's forces at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. The battle took place on what is now the outskirts of Brussels.
France had said in its initial letter to Belgium that the battle "has a particular resonance in the collective consciousness that goes beyond a simple military conflict".
Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt said the new coins, of which there will be 70,000, were not being released in a deliberate bid to anger France.
"The goal is not to revive old quarrels. In a modern Europe, there are more important things to sort out,” said Mr Van Overtveldt.
"But there's been no battle in recent history as important as Waterloo, or indeed one that captures the imagination in the same way," he added.
The €2.50 coins can be used in Belgian shops, but collectors are expected to snap most of them up.
Sold in special plastic bags priced at €6, the coins show the Lion's Mound monument that stands at the battlefield site, as well as lines indicating the position of the troops.
Several thousand copies of silver coin, with a face value of €10, but sold at €40, will also be released.
