Obverse. Photo © Bulgarian National Bank
  • 1 Euro 2025, Bulgaria
  • 1 Euro 2025, Bulgaria
Description

Bulgaria has finalized plans to embrace the euro, paving its way to become the 21st member state of the eurozone. Operating under a currency board since 1997, the Bulgarian lev has maintained a fixed exchange rate against the Deutsche Mark and subsequently the euro. With a target date set for 1 January 2025, the adoption of the euro marks a historic transition, making it only the second national currency in Bulgaria's over 140-year history, following the introduction of the lev. The official exchange rate is set at 1.95583 lev for 1 euro.

Obverse

Depicts an icon of Saint John of Rila surrounded by the inscription "EURO", the country name and the issue year above.

Saint John of Rila (Bulgarian: Свети Йоан (Иван) Рилски, sveti Ioan Rilski) (876 – c. 946) was the first Bulgarian hermit. He was revered as a saint while he was still alive. The legend surrounding him tells of wild animals that freely came up to him and birds that landed in his hands. His followers founded many churches in his honor, including the famous Rila Monastery. One of these churches, "St Ivan Rilski" was only discovered in 2008 in the town of Veliko Tarnovo. Today, he is honored as the patron saint of the Bulgarians and as one of the most important saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

ЕВРО 2025 БЪЛГАРИЯ

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 1 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “1” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

1 EURO
LL

Edge

1 Euro

KM#
Characteristics
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Nickel Brass
Center Cupronickel
Weight 7.5 g
Diameter 23.25 mm
Thickness 2.33 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal

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