Bulgarian Olympic coins: summer and winter games
From the Olympic Congress in Varna in 1973 to 100 years of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee – a complete overview
BulgarianCoins editorial team 3 min read
Sport is among the BNB’s favourite themes. Over 30 coins in our catalogue are devoted to the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement. Here they are by era. All are also collected on the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games pages.
The Olympic Congress in Varna
In 1973 Varna hosted the 10th Olympic Congress. On this occasion, in 1975 two silver 10 leva coins (silver 900) were issued with a mintage of 50,000 each. One bears the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, the other “Sport for a peaceful world”.
The 1980s: Sarajevo, Calgary, Seoul
- XIV Winter Olympic Games, Sarajevo 1984 – 10 leva, silver 925, 15,000 pieces. Today it is offered for about €275.
- Calgary 1988 – a set of 1 and 2 leva (copper-nickel, 300,000 pieces) and 10 and 25 leva (silver, 15,000 pieces).
- Seoul 1988 – the same scheme with 1, 2, 10 and 25 leva.
The copper-nickel coins of these years are common and cheap. The silver ones are more sought after.
The 1990s: large silver coins
After 1989 the BNB issued 925/1000 silver coins weighing 23.33 g for every Olympics. Among them are “Canoe” and “Marathon” for Barcelona 1992, “Figure Skating” and “Cross-Country Skiing” for Albertville 1992, “Slalom” and “Bobsleigh” for Lillehammer 1994, “100 Years of the Olympic Games” (1995) and “Speed Skating” for Nagano 1998. The mintages are 60,000–100,000 pieces. That is why most can be found for €30–120.
Sydney, Salt Lake City and Turin
From 1999 mintages dropped sharply. “High Jump” for Sydney 2000 has only 6,000 pieces. Rarer still is “Short Track” for Turin 2006 – 4,000 pieces. Today it is offered for about €350, against an issue price of €15.
Athens 2004: a gold set
In 2002 the BNB issued ten small gold 5 leva coins (gold 999) for the Athens Games. They show archery, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, running, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and Pierre de Coubertin. The mintage is 12,000 per coin, with 17,000 for Coubertin. The complete set of ten coins is an interesting goal for collectors.
100 years of the Olympic Committee
In 2023 the silver coin “100 Years Bulgarian Olympic Committee” was issued – 10 leva, silver 999, 5,000 pieces.
Which are most sought after
- The small mintages of 1999–2006 – “High Jump”, “Weightlifting”, “Short Track”.
- Sarajevo 1984 – the first silver coin for the Winter Games.
- The sets – especially the complete gold set for Athens.
Tip
Olympic coins are a good choice for a thematic collection. They combine sport, history and different eras. Start with the cheap coins of the 1990s and add the rarer ones gradually. See also Thematic collecting.
Prices are medians of current listings on Balkan Auction as of 19.10.2026. For many coins there are few listings.
