20 Stotinki - Ferdinand I

Bulgaria's first prince, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was elected in 1887 under deeply contested circumstances — Russia refused to recognize him, and the Ottoman Empire technically remained his sovereign. This 1888 issue belongs to his earliest coinage, struck while his political legitimacy was still disputed by two major powers simultaneously. The Bulgarian government pressed ahead with a national coin series partly to assert administrative normalcy in defiance of that ambiguity.

The copper-nickel alloy followed the Latin Monetary Union specifications Bulgaria was angling to align with, though full membership was never granted.