Bulgarian lev

currency of Bulgaria from 1880 to 2025 (iso: BGN)

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The Bulgarian lev is the official currency of Bulgaria, which has been in use since 1880. It matters because it is the money that Bulgarians use for everyday transactions and is important for the country's economy and international trade.

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Article

The lev (лев; plural: лева, левове; lev, leva, levove; ISO 4217 code: BGN) was the currency of Bulgaria from 1880 to 2025. The euro replaced the lev on 1 January 2026; during the cash changeover period (1–31 January 2026), the lev and the euro circulated in parallel for cash payments, and from 1 February 2026 the euro became the sole legal tender in Bulgaria.

The name lev derives from an archaic Bulgarian word meaning "lion" (modern лъв, lǎv, IPA: [ɫɤf]). The lev was subdivided into 100 stotinki (стотинки; singular: стотинка, stotinka); the term is derived from the Bulgarian word for "hundred" (сто, sto) and is modelled on the French centime. On Bulgarian euro coinage, the denominations below one euro use the inscriptions СТОТИНКА / СТОТИНКИ as the Bulgarian equivalent of "cent".