Catalog
50 Leva Srebro
| Issuer | Bulgarian National Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903 |
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| Shape | Rectangular (Vertical) |
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| Obverse description | Vertical format note with an elaborate guilloche border in green and pink tones enclosing the central field. The denomination numeral "50" appears in large figures at top and bottom, with the issuer's name and payment obligation in Cyrillic script arranged in the upper register. A rosette underprint anchors the lower central area beneath the denomination numeral, and two manuscript signatures with printed role titles appear above a repeated serial number at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Петдесетъ Лева Срѣбро Българската Народна Банка Плаща Прѣдѫвителю въ замѣна на таѫ банкнота (Translation: Fifty Leva Silver The Bulgarian National Bank Pays the Bearer for exchange of this banknote) |
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| Comments |
Bulgaria's post-Liberation banking infrastructure leaned heavily on Russian institutional support, and this note is a direct product of that relationship — printed at the Imperial Expedition for the Preparation of State Papers in Saint Petersburg, the same facility producing Russian Imperial currency at the time. The arrangement was practical: Bulgaria lacked a domestic security printing capability, and Goznak offered both technical sophistication and political reliability given the two countries' alignment after 1878.
The denomination designation "Srebro" — silver — indicates convertibility backing rather than metallic composition. Bulgaria maintained a silver-standard peg under the 1899 currency law, making the designation a legal guarantee printed into the note itself.