20 Leva, Bulgarian National Bank, Bulgaria, 1904 (Pick 9)

This 20 Leva note was issued in Bulgaria by the Bulgarian National Bank, dated 1904. It belongs to the First lev (1881-1952) currency system. Issuing authority and period recorded in the catalogue: Ferdinand I (Фердинанд I) (1887-1918). It measures 158 × 98 mm and is printed on paper. The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money lists the type as Pick 9.

Obverse: The coat of arms in the middle on the top. Its lettering reads “Българската Народна Банка / Плаща Прѣдѫвителю въ замѣна на таѫ банкнота / Двадесетъ Лева Злато.”. Translation given in the catalogue: “The Bulgarian National Bank Pays the Bearer for exchange of this banknote Twenty Leva Gold.”. Reverse: A vignette, the text "ДВАДЕСЕТЪ ЛЕВА" (twenty levs) in the middle, the figure 20 on the left and the right sides. Its lettering reads “Двадесетъ Лева / За подправка виновнитѣ се наказватъ съгласно $$ 183 и 191 отъ наказ. законъ.”. Translation given in the catalogue: “Twenty Leva For forgery the guilty are punished according Art. 183 and 191 of the criminal law”.

The note was printed by Goznak (Гознак, Экспедиция заготовления государственных бумаг), Russian Federation (1818-date). Design is credited to Nikolay Nabokov , Vladimir Koupriyanov (Владимир Куприянов) and Georgi Yakovlev Kirkov (Георги Яковлев Кирков). Issue date recorded in the catalogue: 1904. Demonetized: 5 May 1924. Identification note: match the value, issuing bank, printed date and Pick number together; dates and signature combinations distinguish sub-varieties, which are not separated in this entry. Details follow the Numista catalogue entry and the Standard Catalog reference it cites; they have not been checked against a central-bank archive.