Bulgarian lev
Worldwide use:
- Bulgaria
Description:
The official currency of Bulgaria is the Lev. One Lev is made up of 100 Stotinki. Coins come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Stotinki and 1 Lev. Banknotes are available in 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Leva.
"Lev" means "lion" in old Bulgarian.
Origin:
There have been four different types of Lev over the years. The first Lev was established in 1881. The second Lev was introduced in 1952 after the war. Due to high inflation, one new Lev was equal to 100 old Lev. The third Lev arrived in 1962, again to heightened inflation and stayed stable for some time. However, the black market was very active and the rates were much higher than the standard rate. During this time the Lev was backed by gold. However, inflation was accelerated again after the end of communism in the country and so the Lev was pegged to the Deutsche Mark in 1997 with 1000 Lev equaling 1DM. Then, the fourth Lev, which is still in circulation today was established in 1999 with 1 new Lev equaling 1 Deutsche Mark. When the Deutsche Mark changed to the Euro, so did the peg of the Lev. In the future, it is likely that Bulgaria will adopt the Euro.
Component units:
- Stotinka (100)
Date introduced:
- 5 July 1999
Central bank:
- Bulgarian National Bank
Printer:
Mint:
- Bulgarian Mint
