Catalog
10 000 Leva
| Issuer | Bulgarska Narodna Banka (Bulgarian National Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Value | 10 000 Leva (10 000) |
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| Obverse description | Plain light pink guilloche underprint across the entire field. The heading СРОЧЕН КАСОВ БОН is printed in large bold Cyrillic letterpress at centre. The text body, in Cyrillic script, states that Bulgarska Narodna Banka will pay the bearer ten thousand leva in banknotes, with the denomination десет хиляди in bold. The note is dated София, 25 октомври 1919 год. at upper left, with the serial number and denomination Лева 10.000 at upper right; three signature lines for Контрольор, Управител, and Касиер appear at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | СРОЧЕН КАСОВ БОН Българската Народна Банка ще заплати на предявителя на тоя срочен касов бон ЛЕВА десет хиляди въ банкноти. Тоя бон важи до тридесет първи декември 1919 година. Контрольор: Управител: Касиер: София, 25 октомври 1919 год. Лева 10.000 |
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| Comments |
Bulgaria emerged from the First World War on the losing side, stripped of territory by the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly and saddled with reparations it had no realistic means of paying. This note was issued into that wreckage. The Bulgarian lev collapsed under the combined pressure of war debt, occupation costs imposed by the Allied powers, and the near-total disruption of agricultural exports — the country's only real source of foreign exchange.
The 10,000 leva denomination was extraordinary for peacetime Bulgaria. Reaching that figure so quickly after the armistice reflects just how fast purchasing power had evaporated by 1919.