Bulgaria's central bank on Wednesday said it approved the design of a two-lev coin that will replace banknotes of the same face value next year.

The BGN 2 coin will be slightly larger than the current BGN 1 coin and will portray Saint Paisius of Hilendar, a key figure of the Bulgarian National Revival depicted on the BGN 2 note. The same approach was applied when the BGN 1 note portraying St Ivan of Rila was replaced several years ago by a coin of the same face value depicting St Ivan.

The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said last year that the replacement of BGN 2 notes was needed because small-denomination notes were used more intensively in circulation and wore out faster than notes of higher denomination, which increased printing costs per note.

The central bank will additionally announce when it will put into circulation the new BGN 2 coin. BGN 2 notes issued in 1999 and 2005 will remain legal tenders alongside the new coin, the BNB said.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!