20 Leva

Bulgaria's 1999 monetary reform — which redenominated the lev at a rate of 1,000 old leva to one new lev — was itself a consequence of the catastrophic hyperinflation and banking collapse of 1996–97, during which the old 20 leva note had become nearly worthless within months of issue. This replacement series, pegged to the Deutsche Mark and later the euro at a fixed rate, was designed to restore public confidence in a currency that had been functionally abandoned by much of the population.

The Austrian State Printing House in Vienna has handled Bulgarian banknote production across multiple series, a printing relationship that predates the post-communist period.