Bulgaria to put new 50 leva banknote in circulation on November 1

Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said on October 18 that it would put a new 50 leva bill in circulation starting November 1, the second new banknote in less than 12 months, after the 100 leva bill that was issued in December 2018.

Similar to that 100 leva banknote, the new 50 leva bill will have little to differentiate them from the 2006 issue currently in circulation, with the main changes being additional security elements, the central bank said.

These include an additional mark for visually impaired people, consisting of four thick and seven thin lines at an angle along the short sides of the banknote.

The new notes will also have some optical effects, such as the hologram stripe alternating images of a bird and Icarus, as well as using a variable ink, which alternates between gold and green depending on the angle at which it is viewed, BNB said.

Additionally, the security thread will feature the same variable ink, while the watermark of Pencho Slaveikov’s portrait will be in higher resolution.

BNB said that 50 leva banknotes issued in 1999 and 2006 will remain in circulation as legal tender.

(Photo: Bulgarian National Bank)

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