10 Stotinki - Ferdinand I

Bulgaria issued its first coinage as a principality in 1881, but the 1888 series marked a significant administrative shift — these were the first coins struck under Ferdinand I, who had assumed the throne the previous year following the forced abdication of Alexander I of Battenberg and a protracted constitutional crisis that left the country without a recognized ruler for nearly a year. The great powers, particularly Russia, refused to recognize Ferdinand's legitimacy for over a decade.

The coins were struck at the Kremnica Mint in Slovakia, then part of Austria-Hungary, as Bulgaria had no domestic minting facility.