Faces on Money--1 Lev

Almost anywhere you go in the world you will see somebody’s face on the money you use.  Usually it is the face of someone important.  The US notes have presidents (with the exception of the 10 and 100 denominations), and the British and Canadian notes have Elizabeth (as do several other countries of which she is queen).  Whoever the people are on the currency you use, they are usually significant and valued by the people of that nation in some way.  Thus, I thought it would be good to go through the people on the Bulgarian currency to tell you how they are important to the country.

I’ll start with 1 Lev.

The term “Lev” is Bulgarian for lion, so the Bulgarians technically buy and sell by trading lions.  The plural is “Leva,” so while it is good to have 1 Lev in your pocket, it is better to have lots of Leva.

The one Lev bank note is very rare.  Technically they are still legal tender, but in my 7 years of living in Bulgaria I have never seen one.  Today you are much more likely to see 1 Lev coins, which are worth about 60 US cents at todays exchange rate. Whichever on you have though, a 1 Lev coin or 1 Lev note will have on it a picture of Sveti Ivan Rilski or St. John of Rila in English.

The illusive 1 Lev banknote

The common 1 Lev coin

John of Rila was born in 876 in a village that is now part of modern day Sofia.  A story is told of him as a young orphan boy working as a cowherd carrying a calf across a river by walking on the water.  For most of his adult life he lived as a godly hermit.  People started coming to the cave he lived in to become monks.  Eventually they established a church and a monastery.  Today the Rila Monastery stands in his honor, and is one of the most beautiful and sought after tourist attractions in Bulgaria.

Rila Monastery on the side of Rila Mountain (August 2017)

Late in life he wrote A Testament to Disciples, which is considered one of the finest pieces of literature in Old Bulgarian.

He continued to work in ministry leading the monks until his death on August 18, 946.

Though gone for over a thousand years, Bulgaria remembers him and has given him a place of honor on the 1 Lev coin.