Mikhail III Shishman ruled Bulgaria from 1323 until his death at the Battle of Velbazhd in 1330, where Bulgarian forces were routed by the Serbs under Stefan Dečanski. The defeat effectively ended Bulgarian regional dominance in the western Balkans and remains one of the more consequential medieval battles in Southeastern European history. This issue belongs to the Bulgarian National Bank's long-running commemorative series honoring medieval rulers — a program that has produced over two dozen silver collector pieces since the 1990s.
Mikhail III Shishman ruled Bulgaria from 1323 until his death at the Battle of Velbazhd in 1330, where Bulgarian forces were routed by the Serbs under Stefan Dečanski. The defeat effectively ended Bulgarian regional dominance in the western Balkans and remains one of the more consequential medieval battles in Southeastern European history. This issue belongs to the Bulgarian National Bank's long-running commemorative series honoring medieval rulers — a program that has produced over two dozen silver collector pieces since the 1990s.