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10 Leva Foreign Exchange Certificate
| Issuer | Balkan Touriste (ДСО Турист-ГУТ) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Third lev (1962-1999) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in purple on white paper, the talон (coupon) bears the large denomination numeral "10" at centre within a guilloche frame, flanked by ornamental rosettes. The issuer inscription "ДСО ТУРИСТ — ГУТ СОФИЯ 1966" appears at upper right, with serial number and series designation "Серия А" at lower right and left respectively. Two blocks of small Cyrillic text appear in the lower corners outlining conditions of use. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in purple on plain white paper with a fine cross-hatched guilloche underprint covering the entire field. At centre, an oval vignette encloses a white outline map of Bulgaria surmounted by a five-pointed star, with the inscription "BALKAN TOURISTE" arched within the oval border. |
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| Comments |
Balkan Touriste foreign exchange certificates were a hard-currency instrument, not legal tender in any conventional sense. Issued to foreign visitors who were required under Bulgarian National Bank regulations to exchange a minimum daily amount of hard currency into these certificates, they could be spent at Corecom shops and certain hotels — outlets that accepted no ordinary leva whatsoever. The system functioned as a state mechanism for capturing Western currency while maintaining the fiction of a unified domestic monetary order.
The 1966 series predates the better-documented later issues and is considerably scarcer in collector holdings today.