Lev (currency)

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Lev
Country: BulgariaBulgaria Bulgaria
Subdivision: 100 stotinki (St)
ISO 4217 code : BGN
Abbreviation: лв / lv / Lw
Exchange rate :
(August 24, 2020)

1  EUR  = 1.95583 BGN (fixed)

1  EUR  = 1.95583 BGN
1 BGN = 0.51129 EUR

1  CHF  = 1.81752 BGN
1 BGN = 0.5502 CHF

The lev ( Bulgarian Лев , numerical plural : Лева Lewa , "simple" plural: Левове Lewowe ) is the currency used in Bulgaria since 1881 . A lev is divided into 100 stotínki ( Стотинки , singular: Стотинка Stotinka ). The name Lev comes from an outdated form of the word lion, from лѣвъ . Bulgarian money got this name because the Bulgarian coat of arms with the lion was stamped on the coins . The word stotinka comes from the Bulgarian сто ( стотин ) "one hundred", meaning "hundredth".

history

20 stotinki 1913

The lev as part of the Latin Monetary Union (until 1918)

The lev (cf. also Bulgarian лъв 'lion' ) was introduced in 1881 after Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire . At the beginning it was equal to the French Franc and the Latin Monetary Union . Accordingly, one lev was worth as much as 5 grams of 835 silver or 4.35 grams of fine silver (assuming a silver price of around 80 cents per gram, the price for 4.35 grams of fine silver would be around 3.50 euros) .

Under Prince Alexander I (until 1886) coins of 2, 5 and 10 stotinki (= "hundredths") were issued in bronze and 50 stotinki and 1, 2 and 5 leva in silver. They showed the national coat of arms on the obverse and the nominal in a wreath on the reverse. Tsar Ferdinand , on the other hand, had himself depicted on the coins. From now on, the national coat of arms was only to be seen on the small coins of 2½, 5, 10 and 20 stotinki, which were made of copper-nickel. On the silver coins of 50 stotinki, 1, 2 and 5 leva, the image of the king could be seen. The first Bulgarian gold coins were also introduced in 1894. They carried the denominations of 10, 20 and 100 leva, with 100 leva corresponding to about an ounce of gold.

50 leva 1940

The Lev under Tsar Boris III.

After Bulgaria was defeated by the Central Powers in World War I , inflation set in the country . If you got 4.35 grams of fine silver for a lev before the war, after that it was only 0.1 grams (about a factor of 50). Different coins of 50 stotinki, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 leva were issued. Until 1940, the 20, 50 and 100 leva coins were still minted in silver, after which only iron, copper-nickel or steel were used due to the war.

1 lev 1962

The lev in the People's Republic of Bulgaria

After the Second World War, the old Lev became worthless in the newly founded People's Republic of Bulgaria , which is why a currency reform was carried out on January 1, 1962. 100 old leva became a new lev. Socialism brought the country currency stability in which there was practically no inflation. However, silver or gold coins were not issued here, instead copper alloys were used for all nominal coins. There were coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 stotinki as well as 1 lev pieces. From 1970 commemorative coins were also issued at regular intervals (mostly 2 leva in copper-nickel or 5, 10 and 20 leva in silver).

The lev since 1990

5 stotinki coin (2000)

After the socialist system collapsed, new coins and banknotes were issued in 1992. Coins were 10, 20 and 50 stotinki and 1, 2, 5 and 10 leva. In the early 1990s, however, a strong inflation set in, so that on July 1, 1997, the currency was linked to this by means of a currency board at the rate of 1000 levs for 1 German mark . On June 6, 1999, the new lev for 1000 old leva was used. This resulted in a 1: 1 link to the Deutsche Mark. The international currency code for the old lev was BGL; the code for the new lev is BGN. Coins are now available for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 stotinki and 1 and 2 lev and notes for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 leva. 10 leva pieces in silver and 5 leva pieces in gold are issued as commemorative coins. The 1 and 2 leva notes have now been replaced by coins. The bill for 2 leva is currently, in contrast to the bill for one lev, still in circulation as an official means of payment. The note for a lev can only be exchanged at the Bulgarian National Bank.

Since, until the introduction of the euro , 1 lev = 1 DM in Germany, the exchange rate of the lev to the euro corresponds exactly to that of the DM to the euro. This rate is set by Bulgarian law and therefore does not change (see also Currency Board ). The statutory conversion of 1 lev = € 0.51129 and € 1 = 1.95583 leva always applies.

Euro introduction

Initially, after joining the EU in 2007 , the government aimed for an introduction on January 1, 2009, which Sergei Stanischew and ECB boss Jean-Claude Trichet had confirmed at the beginning of 2006, after which it was decided to join the euro zone in 2011 and 2013 respectively out. However, on April 9, 2010, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, elected in 2009, and Finance Minister Simeon Djankow announced that the country had a higher deficit than expected due to the neglected treaties of the previous social democratic government and therefore the conditions for accession to Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) and thus also to Euro zone are not given. On January 11, 2018, Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov announced that the country would apply to join the euro zone within the next 6 months. According to the Bulgarian Finance Minister, all criteria were met in March 2018. On May 23, 2018, the ECB refused to join, citing the inadequate soft criteria. In June 2018 the Bulgarian Finance Minister announced that his country would apply to join ERM II at the end of June 2018. On July 10, 2020, the accession of Bulgaria, together with Croatia , to ERM II was announced. This means that the euro can only be introduced in summer 2022 at the earliest.

Likelihood of confusion

Due to their similarity to the 1 and 2 euro coins (similar size, brass rim and cupronickel core or cupronickel rim and brass core) there is a risk of confusion with the 1 and 2 lev coins in daily use, as they are the same at a glance appears.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ euro-anwaerter.de: Bulgaria
  2. ↑ Bulgaria refrains from joining the Eurozone quickly. In: EurActiv.de. April 14, 2010, accessed May 27, 2010 .
  3. ↑ Bulgaria applies for the euro in 2018, heute.de 11 January 2018
  4. ↑ Vladislav Goranov, Minister of Finance of Bulgaria: "We would make the euro even more stable" , accessed on March 12, 2018
  5. ↑ Anja Ettel, Frank Stocker: ECB prevents Bulgaria from joining the euro . Axel Springer SE, May 23, 2018 ( welt.de [accessed August 26, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Ivaylo Mihaylov: Bulgaria confirms intention to apply for ERM 2 entry by end-June - fin min. June 1, 2018, accessed June 2, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Bulgaria and Croatia now in WKM II Spiegel online, July 10, 2020

Web links

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