The new commemorative coin issued by the Bulgarian National Bank for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU generated a huge amount of interest among collectors and numismatists. The coin with a nominal value of 10 Leva is made of silver with partial gold plating, and is issued in limited circulation – only 3,000, 1,000 of which have been purchased by the government to be used as gifts for the official guests.

Hundreds lined up in front of the Bulgarian National Bank offices in Sofia, Bourgas, Varna, Pleven and Plovdiv and the remaining coins went like hot cakes for 66 Leva each, the price set down by the bank. Along with the commemorative silver coin with the logo of the first Bulgarian Presidency, the national bank issued another coin intended for circulation with a nominal value of 2 Leva with the same logo, in a circulation of 500,000. Numismatists are expecting it to go into circulation in about 6 months’ time.

“I think the reason why the silver commemorative coin was sold out instantly is the massive publicity it got even before it was issued,” says Petar Nedelev, chairman of the Philipopol numismatic association in Plovdiv:

“Bulgarian coins are not much of a collectors’ item internationally. This coin is targeted at the Bulgarian market, that is why a circulation of 3-5,000 is the optimum for Bulgaria in view of the number of people who can afford to buy such a coin. There may even be people who can’t say why they decided to buy it. This kind of coin should not have any defects. They are minted in special conditions, with very stringent quality control requirements. In numismatics, defects are curios. It is usually in the most numerous coins in circulation – 1 and 2 Leva coins – that such flaws are to be found, for example, letters that have dropped out or a head-tails reversal. There is a rule – when the coin is minted, when you flip the face at 90 degrees, there should be a correct image of the reverse side. But it sometimes happens that a coin has shifted slightly on assembly line, for example. If there is strict control coins such as these should be removed from the mint and never see circulation. But collectors are always on the lookout precisely for flawed coins, because their value is higher.”

In Petar Nedelev’s words the big problem in numismatics in this country is the Cultural Heritage Act – 20 years ago restrictive texts were introduced in it, prohibiting members of the public from trading in or even owning coins predating the year 1800. This means numismatists can only collect modern coins, a period that is not all that interesting to them.

“Even coins not in circulation from the past 30 years are of numismatic interest. Even the metal in them brings value,” says Petar Nedelev and adds:

“The money from 1962 was in circulation until 1992 when there was a changeover, then, after 1999 the zeros were slashed. The money we now use has been in circulation for 18 years. The coins with a nominal value of 100 or 10,000 Leva from before the year 2000 are inflation money and the effect is startling. The way they are themed is a reflection on the times when there was galloping inflation, so money had to follow in the tracks of the historical processes in the country.”

English version: Milena Daynova