Catalog
500 Leva Zlato
| Issuer | Bulgarian National Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The Bulgarian state coat of arms is centred at the top of the note, flanked on either side by elaborate guilloche vignettes forming the decorative framework of the face. The denomination numeral "500" appears within ornate cartouches at all four corners, while the issuer name and payment obligation clause are rendered in Cyrillic letterpress across the note. The overall design follows a classical late-nineteenth-century intaglio style consistent with Goznak production of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Петстотинъ Лева Злато Българската Народна Банка Плаща Прѣдѫвителю въ замѣна на таѫ банкнота (Translation: Five Hundred Leva Gold The Bulgarian National Bank Pays the Bearer for exchange of this banknote) |
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| Comments |
The "Zlato" (gold) designation was not decorative — it indicated convertibility into gold coin at a fixed rate, a commitment the Bulgarian National Bank made under the gold standard framework adopted after the country's 1880s monetary reorganization. By 1907, Bulgaria was still a principality nominally under Ottoman suzerainty, a political awkwardness that sat uneasily alongside the ambition of issuing a high-denomination convertible note printed in Saint Petersburg.
Three known signature combinations across the series suggest a long active lifespan for the printing, with different governors and cashiers cycling through. The Goznak facility had supplied Bulgarian banknote production since the earliest issues — a practical arrangement given that Bulgaria lacked domestic security printing capacity well into the twentieth century.