Change the regime – Change the money: Bulgarian banknotes, 1885 to 2003

Adrian E. Tschoegl, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

This paper follows the changes in the images in Bulgaria’s notes from the first issue in 1885 to the most recent in 2003. In that period, Bulgaria has gone from being a monarchy to a Communist Peoples’ Republic to a Parliamentary Republic, and the pictorial elements of its money have reflected those changes. Although it is an obvious point that changes in political regimes lead to changes in the images on the emanations of the State, be they its banknotes, coins, flags, or postage stamps, still this point has not appeared in the literature on these emanations.