Beginning from December 1, commercial banks and post offices across Bulgaria will offer promotional starter sets with the new euro coins, which will feature national symbols and inscriptions on one side. The initiative aims to familiarize citizens with the new currency ahead of its official adoption as Bulgaria’s legal tender on January 1, 2026.
Distribution of euro banknotes and coins to banks and post offices will begin in November, with free exchange from leva to euro available at these institutions for a six-month period following the currency changeover. The minting of Bulgarian euro coins is set to start in August, while the production of euro banknotes with Bulgarian-specific designs will begin in 2027, with the initial supply provided by the European Central Bank.
Each starter pack for citizens will be priced at BGN 20 and will include coins worth EUR 10.23, according to the fixed exchange rate. However, these coins cannot be used for payments until January 1, 2026, nor will they be accepted in other eurozone countries before that date. The Bulgarian National Bank plans to release one million of these sets, with likely purchase limits per person.
The designs include the Madara Horseman on the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins, St. Ivan Rilski on the EUR 1 coin and Paisii Hilendarski on the EUR 2 denomination. Companies and legal entities will also be able to purchase larger packs, worth BGN 200, containing coins equivalent to EUR 102.26. These will be sold exclusively through banks.
The sets are intended not for circulation, but as a means to allow both citizens and businesses to gradually adjust to the new money. Similar practices have been observed in other eurozone entrants. In Croatia, for instance, euro starter kits were made available a month before its official accession on January 1, 2023, and were quickly bought up by households and companies, often as keepsakes or symbolic gifts. (Novinite)