- Base metal
For Atlantic Solidarity
1997 · 500 leva · Bulgarian National Bank
Specifications
- Metal
- Copper-nickel alloy
- Weight
- 11 g
- Diameter
- 30 mm
- Quality
- Proof, mint state
- Official mintage
- 30,000
- Year of issue
- 1997
- Series
- Individual issue
- Designer
- Todor Vardzhiev
- Minted by
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Catalogue no.
- BC-1997-02
- Issue price
- 750.00 лв
- pre-1999 lev · BNB, 1997
- Market value (asking prices)
- €92.50
- median asking price of 2 listings, €15.99 – €169.00 · Balkan Auction, 19 Oct 2026
- Melt value
- —
- base metal, not tracked
Market prices – asking prices
Asking prices on Balkan Auction, 19 Oct 2026
- Ungraded coins
- €15.99 – €169.00
- median asking price €92.50 · 2 listings
Sample listings
Asking prices of active listings (fixed price, starting price or current highest bid) in the public coin category of Balkan Auction. These are asking prices, not completed sales. Lots, sets, replicas, error varieties and precious-metal prices below the metal value are excluded. BulgarianCoins does not buy, sell or value coins.
What if you had bought it at issue?
- Issue price (BNB, 1997)
- €0.38
- Asking price now (median)
- €92.50
- Change in value
- €92.12
- Total return
- +24022%
- Compounded yearly return
- +20.6%a year, over 29.3 years
Quick calculator
Indicative only: the current price is the median of asking prices on Balkan Auction on 19 Oct 2026, not a sale price; fees, taxes and condition are not included.
Relative rarity
5/10 · Scarce
How we calculate it
The score starts from the mintage on a logarithmic scale (500 coins or fewer = 10, ten million = 1). Coins of the Principality and the Kingdom that circulated get extra points, because much of that silver and gold was melted down and many coins were lost in the wars and withdrawn in 1952. Modern commemorative coins lose a point, since almost all of them survive in collections. Finally we look at how often the coin is offered on Balkan Auction: frequent offers lower the score.
Bulgarian Coin Exchange · Beta
Own this coin? Sell it at auction or at a fixed price to other collectors on the Bulgarian Coin Exchange. We do not buy or sell coins ourselves.
Obverse
The obverse features the centrally placed nominal value number ‘500’, with the word ‘ЛЕВА’ (levs) and the year of issue ‘1997’ below. Above, on two lines, is the inscription ‘РЕПУБЛИКА БЪЛГАРИЯ’ (Republic of Bulgaria). The composition is framed by a stylised wreath of roses, tied with a ribbon.
Reverse
The reverse of the coin features the coat of arms of Sofia City and the North Atlantic Treaty’s emblem to the left, surrounded by the inscriptions ‘ЗА АТЛАНТИЧЕСКА СОЛИДАРНОСТ’ (For Atlantic Solidarity) and ‘СОФИЯ ⋅ 1997’ (Sofia ⋅ 1997).
Edge & packaging
Flat edge. Issued in a protective capsule with an information leaflet. The BNB advises keeping the capsule closed.
Image: The Bulgarian National Bank building, Sofia · Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this coin
For Atlantic Solidarity
A 500 leva base metal coin issued by the Bulgarian National Bank in 1997. 30,000 pieces were minted in Sofia, Bulgaria, to a design by Todor Vardzhiev.
Sources: BNB coin page · BNB register and prices · market listing 1
