10 Leva

The Bulgarian National Bank has operated its own intaglio printing facility in Sofia since 1928, making it one of the few central banks in southeastern Europe to produce its notes entirely in-house. The P#117 series, of which this is a later signature variety, was introduced in 1999 as Bulgaria rebuilt credibility following the catastrophic 1996–97 hyperinflation that wiped out savings and ultimately forced the country onto a currency board arrangement pegged to the Deutsche Mark, then the euro.

Designer Kiril Gogov handled much of the BNB's output during this period. The currency board constraint — legally prohibiting the central bank from printing money to cover deficits — gave these notes an unusual political weight for their time.