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HomeCurrenciesWhat is BGN currency?What is BGN currency symbol and code?

What is BGN currency?What is BGN currency symbol and code?

What is BNB currency

The Brunei dollar (sign: B$, Malay: ringgit Brunei, currency code: BND), has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 sen (Malay) or cents (English). The Brunei dollar is issued by the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam).

Under a Currency Interchangeability Agreement in 1967, the Brunei dollar is interchangeable with the Singapore dollar at par. As such, the Brunei dollar is accepted in Singapore as “customary tender”; likewise, the Singapore dollar is accepted in Brunei.

BNB Coins

In 1967, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. Except for the bronze 1 cent, the coins were struck in cupro-nickel. In 1986, copper-clad steel replaced bronze. Later, in 2008, the 1 cent coins switched compositions to brass.

BNB Banknotes
On 12 June 1967, the government (Kerajaan Brunei) introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollars. Notes for 500 and 1000 dollars followed in 1979. In 1989, the title on the paper money was changed to Negara Brunei Darussalam, the official name of the country, and the Malay term for “State of Brunei, Abode of Peace.” 10,000 dollar notes were introduced the same year. All notes bear the denomination in Malay (in both Rumi and Jawi) and in English. The English denomination appeared on the obverse below the denomination in Malay on the earlier series, but now appears on the reverse together with the Jawi.

Five series of notes have been issued. The colours of $1, $5, and $10 notes have been the same for all the series of banknotes.

1967 series
First series (1967) – currency with the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III, the 28th ruler of Brunei.
$1 – blue $5 – green $10 – red $50 – brown $100 – purple

1972 series
Second series – This series was the same as the first series with exception that the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin was replaced by the portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th and current ruler of Brunei. All subsequent currency has the portrait of Hassanal Bolkiah. In addition, two new higher denominations were issued in 1979.

$1 ~ $100 like 1967 series $500 – pink $1000 – yellow

1989 series
Third series – the post independence series. This series was gradually being replaced by the fourth series.

$1 – blue $5 – green $10 – red $50 – brown, green, orange $100 – purple $500 – orange $1,000 – red-violet, purple, olive $10,000 – green, orange

1996–2000 polymer and paper series
Fourth Series (1996–2000) all notes except for the polymer issues are no longer printed.

$1 – blue $5 – green $10 – red $50 – brown, green and blue $100 – brown, orange $500 – orange

2004–2007 (polymer) series
Polymer banknotes were introduced in (2004) due to high cases of banknote forgery. All of them are polymer. The $100 note of this series has won a gold medal award for its security features in the 22nd National Print Award in Australia in May 2005.

$50 – Light blue and bronze $100 – brown and orange $500 – pink $1000 – grey and brown $10,000 – gold and green

The S$10,000 and B$10,000 notes are the world’s most valuable banknotes, worth USD 8000 as of September 2014 (that are officially in circulation).They are worth eight times as much as the next most valuable, the 1000 Swiss franc note (USD 1063). From 6 November 2020, AMBD has announced it will stop printing B$10,000 notes to reduce the risk of money laundering. Brunei has also stopped the issuance of B$10,000 and is in the process of withdrawing it from active circulation.

2011 polymer series

$1 – blue (2011)
$5 – green and yellow (2011)
$10 – red, yellow and brown (2011)
To commemorate the 65th birthday of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Shortly after the notes were issued, the Braille dots on the upper left front corner of the new polymer notes are not raised. The Braille dots cannot be felt tactilely, and they are not accurately rendered as Braille numbers corresponding to the denominations. Specifically, the spacing of the dots is wrong, and they lack the lead-in character that indicates that numbers follow.

What is BGN currency?What is BGN currency symbol and code?

What is BGN currency

The lev (Bulgarian: лев, plural: лева, левове / leva, levove; ISO 4217 code: BGN; numeric code: 975) is the currency of Bulgaria. In old Bulgarian the word “lev” meant “lion”, the word ‘lion’ in the modern language is lаv (IPA: [ɫɤf]; in Bulgarian: лъв). The lev is divided in 100 stotinki (стотинки, singular: stotinka, стотинка). Stotinka in Bulgarian means “a hundredth” and in fact is a translation of the French term “centime”. Grammatically the word “stotinka” comes from the word “sto” (сто) – a hundred.

Since 1997, the lev has been in a currency board arrangement with initially the Deutsche Mark at a fixed rate of BGL 1000 to DEM 1. After the introduction of the euro and the redenomination of the lev in 1999, this has resulted in a fixed rate to the euro of BGN 1.95583 : EUR 1. Since 2020, the lev has been a part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). The lev is scheduled to be supplanted by the euro on 1 January 2024.

BGN Coins

Between 1881 and 1884, bronze 2, 5 and 20 stotinki, and silver 50 stotinki, 1, 2 and 5 leva were introduced, followed, in 1888, by cupro-nickel 2+1⁄2, 5, 10 and 20 stotinki. Gold 10 and 20 leva were issued in 1894. Bronze 1 stotinka were introduced in 1901.

Production of silver coins ceased in 1916, with zinc replacing cupro-nickel in the 5, 10 and 20 stotinki in 1917. In 1923, aluminum 1 and 2 leva coins were introduced, followed by cupro-nickel pieces in 1925. In 1930, cupro-nickel 5 and 10 leva and silver 20, 50 and 100 leva were introduced, with silver coins issued until 1937, in which year aluminium-bronze 50 stotinki were issued.

In 1940, cupro-nickel 20 and 50 leva were issued, followed, in 1941, by iron 1, 2, 5 and 10 leva. In 1943, nickel-clad-steel 5, 10 and 50 leva were struck. These were the last coins issued for this version of the lev.

In 1952, coins (dated 1951) were introduced in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 25 stotinki, with the lower three denominations in brass and the higher three in cupro-nickel. Shortly after, cupro-nickel 20 stotinki coins dated 1952 were also issued, followed by 50 stotinki in 1959 and 1 lev in 1960 which replaced the 1 lev note (both also in cupro-nickel). All stotinki coins feature a head of wheat around denomination on the reverse and state emblem on the obverse, while the lev coin depicts an olive branch wreath around the denomination.

In 1962, aluminum-bronze 1, 2, and 5 stotinki, and nickel-brass 10, 20 and 50 stotinki and 1 lev were introduced. The coin series strongly resembles coinage from the Soviet Union during the same period, particularly in design and size.

The state emblem is depicted on the obverse of all coins, which went through several changes. The first change in 1962 with the introduction of the new coinage, and the second change in 1974, with the ribbons being the most noticeable change.

A number of commemorative 2 leva coins also circulated during this period, often released into circulation as they had relatively high production numbers and little collector’s value. Higher denomination lev coins have also been introduced into circulation at an irregular basis with varying sizes and metallic compositions, including silver. Mostly due to an overstock of numismatic coins not getting sold to collectors. Similar occurrences to this can be seen with high denomination coins from East Germany and Poland during the same period.

In 1999, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 stotinki were introduced. A 1 lev coin replaced the 1 lev banknote 2002, and a 2 lev coin the 2 lev banknote in 2015.

BGN Banknotes

In 1885, the Bulgarian National Bank introduced notes for 20 and 50 gold leva, followed in 1887 by 100 gold leva and, in 1890, by 5 and 10 gold leva notes. In 1899, 5, 10 and 50 silver leva notes were issued, followed by 100 and 500 silver leva in 1906 and 1907, respectively. 500 gold leva notes were also introduced in 1907.

In 1916, 1 and 2 silver leva and 1000 gold leva notes were introduced, followed by 2500 and 10,000 gold leva notes in 1919. In 1924, 5000 leva notes were issued, the first to lack a metal designation. In 1928, a new series of notes (dated 1922 and 1925) was introduced which gave the denominations solely in leva. Denominations introduced were 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 leva. These were followed in 1929 by 200 and 250 leva.

In 1930, coins up to 100 leva replaced notes, although 20-lev notes were issued between 1943 and 1950. Between 1943 and 1945, State Treasury Bills for 1000 and 5000 leva were issued.

In 1952, state notes (dated 1951) were issued in 1, 3 and 5 leva, together with notes of the National Bank for 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 leva. 500-lev notes were printed but not issued. 1 lev notes were withdrawn after the introduction of a coin in 1960. 1, 3, and 5 leva depict the state emblem, while all denominations 10 leva and up depict Georgi Dimitrov, who had a postmortem cult of personality built up around him by that time period. The reverse side of 1 lev, 3 and 5 leva notes depict hands holding up the hammer and sickle, while higher denominations each depict workers at various trades.

In 1962, the National Bank issued notes for 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 leva. A second series, in the same denominations, was issued in 1974. 50 leva notes were introduced in 1990. Again, denominations 10 leva and up featured Georgi Dimitrov, 1, 2, and 5 featured the state emblem. After the fall of the communist regime, new notes were introduced for 20, 50, 100 and 200 leva. These were followed by 500 leva notes in 1993, 1000 and 2000 leva in 1994, 5000 and 10,000 leva in 1996 (re-released with new design and look in 1997), and 50,000 leva in 1997. Furthermore, two new banknotes of 20,000 and 100,000 leva were scheduled to be introduced in 1997 and 1998, but their production was canceled following the introduction of currency board in 1997.

In 1999, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 leva. 100 leva notes were added in 2003. The 1 and 2 lev notes were later replaced by coins of similar value and withdrawn from circulation.