1930 Bulgarian 100 Leva KM# 43

A couple of months ago, I shared a post about some coins that were issused in 1953 from the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPR Yugoslavia) that I've had since childhood. I had ordered them from a mail-order outlet that provided coins to collectors. Back in that day when I was a child, no one had computers or smartphones, the Internet had yet to be invented, and everyone bought items in shops or mail-order companies. It was also relatively safe back in those days to send cash in the mail, so I tucked a couple of quarters or a dollar-bill (I forget how much, exactly) into an envelope with a clipping of an advertisement from a magazine and received a packet of coins from various countries.

One of the Steemians who saw my post and commented on it was @ravijojla, who also shared a couple of photos with me in DM on Discord of a couple of Bulgarian coins she has from long ago. One of them was so very lovely that I wanted one of them in my collection, too! So, I went on eBay and ordered one!

The one I got was a 100 LEVA (rendered as 'ЛЕВА' in the beautiful Cyrillic alphabet) and was minted in 1930. This coin is 50% silver, so it does have some intrinsic value other than the 'collector value.'

^{SOURCE: Collectibles_AR_Shop}

The obverse (front) of the coin depicts the man who was the Bulgarian head-of-state at the time, Tsar Boris III, who ruled from 1918 until his death in 1943. A strange tale ensues about what happened to his body afterwards. He was originally interred at the Rila Monastery, but his body was moved to Vrana Palace after the Communists took power in 1944. Upon the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, plans were made to exhume the tsar's body and return it to its original resting place at the monastery. However, the body was not there — only his heart, which had been placed in a separate glass container and buried alongside the coffin. Where, and why, the Communists secretly moved his body remains a mystery. [source]

Tsar Boris III did much to protect the Jewish population of Bulgaria during the horrors of World War II, and was awarded many honors after his death for his efforts by other nations and by his own people. [source] Around the king's portrait is "БОРИСЪ III ЦАРЬнаБЪЛГАРИТѢ," which translates to "BORIS III, TSAR OF THE BULGARIANS." Beneath the portrait is "L∙BERÁN" to honor the engraver, a Hungarian sculptor and artist named Lajos Berán. ^[1]


The beautiful wreath on the reverse (back) of the coin is what captivated me into wanting to add this coin to my collection! There are shafts of wheat in the wreath, but also flowers as well, which adds to the wreath's lovely appearance! I also like how the coin appears uncluttered, with a very simple — yet striking! — design.

My coin is sealed in a cardboard holder, glued shut, with a clear "window" so I would have to destroy the holder to open it. Numista.com, however, says that the edge is also engraved with "БОЖЕ ПАЗИ БЪЛГАРИЯ" ("God Save Bulgaria"). Since I don't want to destroy the holder by opening it, I will just trust that my coin is so engraved as well... 😂

When I got this coin, I first thought I'd struck a mother lode, as currency-exchange sites give 100 LEVA an exchange value of USD $58.00, over twice what I paid for this coin. However, Numista.com and a couple of other sites indicate that the LEVA from this era have been demonitized. Perhaps @ravijojla can confirm this for me: would a bank or shop accept this coin today in payment, or is a coin this old considered "worthless" as actual money?

Regardless of any 'face value' that this 20-gram coin might have, it was made from 50% silver, so it has a 'melt value' of around USD $5.00 today. The 'collector value' is about USD $10.33 for a coin in 'Very Fine' condition, as this one is. ^[1]