2 Leva - Aleksandr I

Bulgaria's first silver coinage came directly from the political settlement following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. The Treaty of Berlin created an autonomous Bulgarian principality, and Aleksandr of Battenberg was installed as its first prince in 1879 — a German aristocrat chosen partly to satisfy the competing interests of the Great Powers. The 1882 coinage was struck at the St. Petersburg Mint, a pointed acknowledgment of Russia's dominant role in the new state's formation.

Aleksandr's reign ended abruptly in 1886 when Russian-backed conspirators kidnapped him and forced his abdication. The series is consequently short-lived.