Catalog
1 Lev - Aleksandr I
| Issuer | Bulgaria |
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| Year | 1882 |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the crowned coat of arms of the Principality of Bulgaria, featuring a rampant lion on a quartered shield supported by two rearing lions as heraldic supporters, surmounted by a royal crown with two flanking flags. The arms are enclosed within a rope-style inner border and surrounded by an outer beaded border. The Cyrillic legend БЪЛГАРИЯ appears along the upper arc, while СЪЕДИНЕНИЕ-ТО ПРАВИ СИЛА-ТА (Unity Makes Strength) runs along the lower arc, separated by two small five-pointed stars. |
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| Obverse lettering | * БЪЛГАРИЯ * СЪЕДИНЕНИЕ-ТО ПРАВИ СИЛА-ТА (Translation: Bulgaria Unity Makes Strength) |
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| Additional information |
Bulgaria's first silver coinage as an autonomous principality under Russian suzerainty, this 1882 issue was struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint — a politically deliberate choice given that Aleksandr I of Battenberg owed his throne entirely to Russian backing following the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. The relationship would collapse almost immediately: by 1886, Russian officers orchestrated a coup that forced Aleksandr to abdicate, ending the Battenberg line after just eight years.
Relatively low mintage and a short-lived reign make survivors in collectible condition genuinely scarce.