A hobby that jingles: commemorative coins as a keepsake and an investment

When a long queue forms in front of the BNB’s counters, it has long since stopped meaning that the country’s financial security is under threat. Most likely a new commemorative coin has come out, and it draws the attention of more than just numismatists. In recent years more and more people buy coins as a gift for relatives or business partners – a gift that over time turns out to be a profitable investment.

Interest in commemorative coins is steady. “The most attractive ones usually sell out in two or three days,” says Tsvetan Manchev, deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank in charge of the Issue Department. The BNB supplies most of the commemorative coins on the Bulgarian market, where products of foreign mints are also offered. According to Manchev, there are around 1,000 to 3,000 collectors in the country. Since the bank issues coins in larger mintages, there is clearly a large group of people who buy without being collectors.

The new pendari

“In Bulgaria, buying commemorative coins is rooted in the old tradition of giving coins on important occasions in life,” explains Valentina Grigorova-Gencheva, director of Gold and Numismatics at First Investment Bank, which recently brought a series of New Zealand commemorative coins to the market. That is why most customers buy as a gift or as a lasting family asset – guided by memories from Bulgarian literature or family stories about napoleons or pierced pendari (old gold coins worn as jewellery). Series with Christian themes, or ones dedicated to an event or a holiday, sell in larger mintages. They make good gifts and attract more interest from ordinary people. If little Goshko is given a coin with St George the Victorious, it may turn out to be a better investment than a company’s shares.

A gift as an investment

Commemorative coins offer a chance of profit, because over time some smaller and rarer series can exceed their issue price and their metal value many times over on the secondary market. One coin that has outgrown its issue price of 500 leva is the “Golden Bulgarian Lev” with St Ivan of Rila (mintage 2,000, face value 1 lev). It is hard to find even on the secondary market – as is the large version of the gold coin in honour of St George the Victorious. It was issued this year on St George’s Day for 470 leva (face value 100 leva, mintage 1,500). “For both coins, offers of more than 1,000 leva are currently being made,” explains Valentina Grigorova-Gencheva.

Also interesting for collectors and younger people is the first series of Bulgarian coloured coins in copper-nickel – “Survakari”, “My Childhood”, “Palm Sunday” and “Baba Marta”. Such coins are rarely struck because they are difficult to make, but the combination of relief and colour makes them more beautiful and attractive. On the internet you can also easily find dealers, mostly foreign ones, who sell Bulgarian coins at higher prices even though their mintages have not yet sold out. The American company PandaAmerica, for instance, sells the 1965 gold coin for the Slavonic alphabet on its website for 614 dollars. The same coin costs 698 leva including VAT at the BNB. The BNB’s counters also still sell older silver commemorative coins whose price is almost equal to the value of the metal they contain – which makes them particularly attractive as a pure silver investment.

Coins with a future

The internet allows the market to develop and grow. “Issuers are going for smaller series, and that creates opportunities for a secondary market,” explains Tsvetan Manchev. The BNB series of 50,000 to 300,000 pieces are also a thing of the past; today mintages are between 4,000 and 14,000–15,000. Traditionally the bank issues three to five new coins a year, almost always including a gold one. Under the rules of coin issuing worldwide, the mintage and sale price are announced publicly and not changed. In choosing themes, the BNB also relies on public opinion, Manchev explains: 7,000 to 10,000 people took part in the bank’s latest online polls. According to the central bank, Bulgarian commemorative coins are also available at the branches of First Investment Bank, Central Cooperative Bank, SIBank, Municipal Bank, Investbank, DSK Bank and Eurobank EFG Bulgaria.

Translated from Bulgarian by the BulgarianCoins editorial team. Prices in leva, as of 2008.