ALBANIAN 50 LEV

This is a note from communist Albania dated at 1978, it is the 50 Lev. The front has soldiers on parade and a portrait of Gjergj Kastrioti who was known as Skanderbeg. He was a military leader that led the rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and was one of the first leaders that united the peoples of the area into what was to become the Albania of today. The reverse has a picture of a construction site building a block of flats.

More Albanian notes HERE and HERE

THE PATRON SAINT OF BULGARIA

This is the 1 Lev Note from 1999. As you can see, Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic script which makes identifying it that bit more interesting . it pictures St John of Rila, The patron saint of Bulgaria, who was, by all accounts the Bulgarian version of St Francis of Assisi, and was revered as a saint in his own lifetime, The reverse has the Monastery of Rila.

More Bulgarian notes HERE and HERE

 

RILA MONASTERY

BULGARIA 2

Here's some more Bulgarian notes, some of which we've seen before - the 3 Leva note, but the top one is the 200 leva note with Gorgi Dimitrov , who was a communist politician on the front and ladies picking tobacco on the reverse - who knew bulgaria grew tobacco ??

The other one we haven't seen before is the 5 Leva note with hands holding the Hammer and sickle on the reverse. all 3 notes are from 1951.

you can see the other Bulgarian notes HERE

BULGARIA

The Republic of Bulgaria is a Balkan country on the black sea. Its Capital city is Sofia .It was a former soviet bloc country and left in 1990. It hss now joined Nato (2004) and is a member of the European Union (since 2007).the monetary notes are in LEV and 1 lev = 100 Stotinki.

Above are two notes from 1951 the first is a 50 Leva with a peasant landy on the reverse and G Dimitrov (georgi ??) on the front. the other is a 3 leva, the front has a coat of arms to the left and the reverse has hands holding a hammer and sickle.

This one is a 2 leva note from 1962 with the reverse having a picture of a woman picking grapes in a vineyard (not shown)

This part set is from 1974, showing the 1, 5 and 10 Leva notes, the 2 and 20 Leva noes would make the full set .

and finally, from 1991, after leaving the soviet bloc, the hammer and sickle is gone, replaced with the duchess of Bulgaria and the reverse has an image of Boyana church