This is one of those notes that you collect that when you get into researching it, you find out that it tells a much bigger story than you would have ever imagined. Indeed, much of what is found on this note is tragic, historical, but in the end quite surprising. The front of the note has a portrait of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. Curiously during the early 1940's Bulgaria and Romania found themselves allied with Germany and Italy in their crusade to conquer Europe and enslave the populations of overrun countries. However, in both Bulgaria and Romania, the Germans found reluctant, and even downright defiant allies. Traditionally Bulgaria has always had much stronger alliances with Russia, in fact Russia contributed to Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. The brief interwar years betwixt the end of the First World War and the change of government in Russia changed all that. Bulgaria found itself isolated from it's traditional ally, Russia when the USSR was formed in 1922 and the new Soviet government initiated a campaign of social and political revolution in it's neighbouring or nearby countries. With the opening of WWII Bulgaria found herself somewhat ambiguously allied with Germany. Indeed this alliance seems to have benefited only the German Reich, and Bulgaria more or less found itself as an unwilling partner in a campaign they really did not have the heart to be in at all. One area where Bulgaria stood it's ground was that despite entering the war against the USA and Great Britain symbolically, it refused to initiate a campaign against the USSR, because of strong pro-Russian sentiment against such a war. Tsar Boris III is believed to have also prohibited the extradition some 50.000 Bulgarians of Jewish descent. He is conjectured to have opined that they were Bulgarian first, and Jewish second, therefore they were protected as Bulgarian citizens and not subject to the whims of the German Reich. Boris III died unexpectedly on 28 August 1943, only two and a half weeks after an incredibly stormy meeting with Adolf Hitler at Rastenberg in E. Prussia. It had long been suspected that his untimely demise had more to do with his falling out with Hitler than any health issue, but when his remains were autopsied in the 1990's it was determined that he, did in fact, die of a heart defect. The vignette of a young woman on the reverse is my primary fascination with this note, she is determinately, a typical rural young lady, with her fascinating necklace of coins!. What I find most fascinating is that this young lady on this note is not some unknown feminine vignette just created out of nowhere, she is a real person by the name of Evdokia Kovacheva. She lived long after this note was created, and was still autographing the notes occasionally in the 1980's!
very intriguing story with that note! did the characters on the face and back know each other? Have any dealings together? or just aquintances fromt he note??
I rather highly doubt it. She was a mere model for the vignette of the note. Unlike the famous Gypsy $5 Peso note from Mexico where it has been alleged that the woman was a Spaniard by the name of Gloria Faure who was the reputed amorous interest of then president Plutarco Calles of Mexico. Actually in Latin American notes, there are many stories of such vernacular, but they are future articles for my "Banknotes That Tell a Story" series.
Excellent post!!! I have the 1950 series of Bulgarian notes. They are very beautiful notes. Wonder what kind of stories they have? Very informative article. Where did you find the information for the background on the note?
Thanks for sharing I love these history lessons in notes. I have even purchased some of them because of the stories told here. If you post any more of these stories under a new post please PM me I don't want to miss reading them. I should have paid more attention 30 odd years ago maybe I would recall more of this stuff.
Cool stuff...I am going to stay tuned and try and catch them all. I didn't even realize that Bulgaria declared war on the US in WWII. Wow... Your posts are always some of the most educational to me.
