site.btaCentral Bank Ends Lev Commemoratives, Launches Euro Collector Coins

The Bulgarian National Bank stopped issuing lev-denominated commemorative coins and began issuing euro-denominated collector coins as Bulgaria joined the euro area, BNB said in a concept note published on its website on Thursday.

BNB will publish a list of lev issues from 1999-2025, separating them from its euro collector series starting in 2026.

The bank's main goal is to ensure the sustainable development of numismatics in Bulgaria by combining national minting traditions with international experience and continuity between coins issued before and after the euro is introduced, while also ensuring the coins can be marketed on the domestic and international numismatic market.

Under the European legal framework, euro area countries may issue circulation, commemorative and collector coins, the document explains. Circulation coins (coins with a national side) are issued and put into circulation at face value. They come in eight denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cents and EUR 1 and EUR 2, with each coin having a common European side and a distinctive national side.

Commemorative coins are issued only with a face value of EUR 2 and are dedicated to themes of major national or European importance. They may be issued up to twice a year, except where the design is common to all member states. Their mintage is limited to ensure commemorative coins make up only a small share of the total number of coins.

Collector coins are legal tender only in the issuing country, and their face value must differ from the denominations of circulation euro coins. This type of coin must also differ substantially from circulation coins in at least two of three parameters: colour, diameter and weight.

After January 1, 2026, BNB will continue to draw up a three-year programme for issuing collector euro coins. BNB’s coin programme will include coins with new technical parameters linked mainly to the change in face value and the currency unit from lev to euro.

The 2026 coin programme published on BNB’s website includes one gold, three silver and one copper collector coin for the new year. The gold coin, expected in October, will have a face value of EUR 100 and will be dedicated to St John of Rila. The silver coins will be dedicated to 125 Years of Electric Trams in Bulgaria, 150 Years Since the April Uprising, and the Transfiguration Monastery.

Their face value will be EUR 10 and they are expected in January, April and August, respectively. The copper coin, with a face value of EUR 5, will be dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Krastyo Sarafov and is expected in March.

From 2026, BNB will have the right to issue up to two commemorative coins a year with a face value of EUR 2, which must go through a preliminary consultation procedure with the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) at least six months before they are issued. In this context, BNB’s 2026 coin programme provides for issuing a commemorative coin, Bulgarian Alphabet, with a face value of EUR 2 in the second half of 2026.

As of Thursday, BNB stopped issuing the gold commemorative coin Holy Mother of God – Golden Apple with no set mintage. BNB explained the decision with reduced interest among collectors due to the lack of a limited mintage and the coin’s high price. It also said that issuing coins without a limited mintage runs counter to a 2012 EU regulation under which collector coin issues are included in the overall quantity of coins approved by the ECB.