site.btaCentral Bank: BGN Banknotes in Circulation Decline Slightly, but Total Value Rises

At the end of September, there were BGN 604,921,653 banknotes in circulation in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said on its website here on Tuesday. Compared to the end of August, when 605,354,831 units were in circulation, this marks a decrease of 0.07%.

The most widely circulated banknotes were those with a denomination of BGN 50, totaling 251,089,244 units, followed by BGN 100 notes with 142,123,500 units, and BGN 20 notes with 97,914,354 units. The total value of banknotes in circulation as of the end of September amounted to BGN 29,695,044,185, representing a 0.28% increase from the end of August (BGN 29,611,675,705).

In the third quarter of the year, 283 non-genuine banknotes were detected and removed from circulation. The BGN 100 note accounted for the majority, with 158 non-genuine notes seized. Additionally, 62 non-genuine BGN 50 notes, 49 BGN 20 notes, 13 BGN 10 notes, and one BGN 5 note were registered and seized.

At the end of 1999, 160,559,571 banknotes were in circulation, as reported by the BNB. At that time, the highest denomination was the BGN 50 note, with 20,074,488 units in circulation. The BGN 1 note was the most circulated at the time, with 37,223,418 units in circulation.

Although BGN 1 notes have not been in circulation since January 1, 2016, they continue to be exchangeable at BNB cash desks. The BGN 100 note has been in circulation since December 8, 2003.