Bulgarian lev
| Bulgarian lev | |
|---|---|
| български лев (Bulgarian) | |
20 leva gold coin (1894)
|
|
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | BGN |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | stotinka |
| Plural | levove, numeric: leva |
| stotinka | stotinki |
| Symbol | лв. |
| Nickname |
lev – kint ; 1,000 leva – bon |
| Banknotes | |
| Freq. used | 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 leva |
| Rarely used | 1 leva |
| Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 stotinki, 1, 2 leva |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |
 Bulgaria
|
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Bulgarian National Bank |
| Website | www |
| Mint | Bulgarian Mint |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Pegged with | euro = 1.95583 leva |
lev – kint ; 1,000 leva – bon
The lev (Bulgarian: лев, plural: лева, левове / leva, levove) is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki (стотинки, singular: stotinka, стотинка). In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion", a word which in the modern language became lăv (IPA: /lɤv/) (in Bulgarian: лъв).
The lev was introduced as Bulgaria's currency in 1881 with a value equal to the French franc. The gold standard was suspended between 1899 and 1906 and suspended again in 1912. Until 1916, Bulgaria's silver and gold coins were issued to the same specifications as those of the Latin Monetary Union. Banknotes issued until 1928 were backed by gold ("leva zlato" or "zlatni", "лева злато" or "златни") or silver ("leva srebro" or "srebarni", "лева сребро" or "сребърни").
In 1928, a new gold standard of 1 lev = 10.86956 mg gold was established.
During World War II, in 1940, the lev was pegged to the German Reichsmark at a rate of 32.75 leva = 1 Reichsmark. With the Soviet occupation in September 1944, the lev was pegged to the Soviet ruble at 15 leva = 1 ruble. A series of pegs to the U.S. dollar followed: 120 leva = 1 dollar in October 1945, 286.50 leva in December 1945 and 143.25 leva in March 1947. No coins were issued after 1943; only banknotes were issued until the currency reform of 1952.
Between 1881 and 1884, bronze 2, 5 and 20 stotinki, and silver 50 stotinki, 1, 2 and 5 leva were introduced, followed, in 1888, by cupro-nickel 2 1⁄2, 5, 10 and 20 stotinki. Gold 10 and 20 leva were issued in 1894. Bronze 1 stotinka were introduced in 1901.
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Wikipedia