5 Leva - Aleksandr I

Bulgaria's first silver coinage as an autonomous principality was struck at the St. Petersburg Mint, a deliberate political signal given that Russia had effectively created the Bulgarian state through the 1878 Treaty of Berlin and installed Alexander of Battenberg on the throne. The Russian connection was already fraying badly by the time the 1885 pieces were struck — Alexander's insistence on unifying with Eastern Rumelia that year brought him into direct conflict with Tsar Alexander III, who had expected a compliant client ruler.

Alexander was abducted by Russian-backed officers in August 1886 and forced to abdicate. The two-year window of this issue makes it inherently short-lived by design circumstance rather than mintage decision.