A gold collector coin showing St John of Rila, part of the "Bulgarian Iconography" series, goes into circulation on 12 October 2026, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. The coin has a face value of €100 and sells for €1,508 at launch. The mintage is 3,000.
BNB counters sell the coin only in Sofia: four in the main building at 1 Knyaz Alexander I Square, and four more in the Cash Centre at 10 Mihail Tenev Street.
By the end of the working day on 12 October, the BNB will pass the coin on for sale to Investbank, First Investment Bank, Texim Bank, Tokuda Bank, Municipal Bank, Central Cooperative Bank and the Mint (Monetен Dvor) EAD. The banks sell it at their own offices and branches.
BNB counters sell one coin per customer, whether the buyer acts for themselves or on behalf of someone else. Anyone buying for another person must show an express notarised power of attorney. A person who buys a coin as an individual cannot buy a second one as a representative of a legal entity, and the same applies the other way round. The coin is not sold to anyone under 18.
The coin is made of 999/1000 gold, in top-quality matte-gloss finish. It weighs 8.64 grams and is 24 mm across, with a smooth edge. Simeon Tsintsarski designed it.
The front shows the BNB emblem with "1879" on the ribbon. Below it are the face value "100 EURO" and the year of issue, "2026". The back shows St John of Rila, with "ST JOHN OF RILA" around the top edge.
According to the coin's information leaflet, St John of Rila the Wonderworker was born around 876 in the village of Skrino, in the Osogovo Mountains. In the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition, he is revered as a spiritual father, teacher and heavenly protector of Bulgarians.
It is the BNB's fifth and last collector coin for 2026. Collector euro coins are legal tender only in the country that issues them, not across the eurozone. Each eurozone country can issue up to two commemorative euro coins a year, and these are legal tender across the whole currency union.
The BNB has said it will issue a collector coin called "The Bulgarian Alphabet" for 2026. Its design is disputed. A Council of the EU document dated 29 May 2026 says a eurozone member state objected to the project. In June the BNB explained that the objection came at government level, not at central bank level.
The bank will not comment further until the procedure on the "Bulgarian Alphabet" coin ends.