Principality of Bulgaria, 1878–1908
The Minting Rights Act of 1880 made the lev, divided into 100 stotinki, the national currency, modelled on the bimetallic standard of the Latin Monetary Union. The first coins — bronze 2, 5 and 10 stotinki — were struck in Birmingham in 1881; silver 1 and 2 leva followed from St Petersburg in 1882, and the first Bulgarian gold coins in 1894.
Kingdom of Bulgaria, 1908–1946
With the declaration of independence in 1908 Bulgaria became a kingdom, and its coins carried the portraits of Tsar Ferdinand I and later Tsar Boris III. Coins were still struck by foreign mints.
People’s Republic of Bulgaria, 1946–1990
The Bulgarian Mint in Sofia began work in 1952, and from 1965 the Bulgarian National Bank issued commemorative coins in gold and silver — among them the 1981 series for 1,300 years of Bulgaria. Circulation coins of the period were struck in aluminium, brass and copper-nickel.
Republic of Bulgaria, 1991–2025
The Republic’s collector coins cover churches and monasteries, medieval rulers, national heroes, the treasures of Bulgaria and the Olympic games. The lev was redenominated in 1999 (1,000 old leva to 1 new lev).
Euro, since 2026
Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026. The BNB now issues collector euro coins, starting with the 125 years of the electric tram coin in January 2026.