10 000 Leva

Bulgaria's post-WWI reparations burden under the Treaty of Neuilly (1919) was crushing — the country owed 2.25 billion gold francs, lost significant territory, and faced severe restrictions on its military. The Bulgarian State Debt Administration issuing currency rather than the National Bank reflects the fiscal disarray of that period, with government debt management bodies drawn into money creation as the state struggled to finance obligations it had no realistic means of meeting.

The 10,000 Leva denomination itself signals acute inflation pressure by 1922. Notes of this series are known to show foxing and paper fragility due to wartime paper stock quality — condition issues that are intrinsic to the type rather than the result of rough handling.