Bulgarian bill fronts
This post is mostly for my numismatically-inclined pals over in the SilverGoldStackers community, but also anyone who's interested in peeking at what's going on inside my head these days.
I know I've mentioned that, as a kid, I collected money. Not in the "accumulating wealth" sense, but in the "possibly valuable and usually cool-looking" sense. These bills are some from that part of my life, though they are a bit older than I am - 24 years older, to be precise.
Bulgarian bill backs
This set is dated 1951, and ebay tells me it's a complete set - 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 & 200 leva (ЛЕВА). Most of the time when I bought bills, I'd get them one at a time, so I'm kind of surprised that I have this set in my collection. But I'm not complaining! I still love the beautiful colors, and varied sizes. See how as the denomination gets larger, bill size increases too? I just thought this was the coolest thing as a kid.
Small bill watermark
I also loved that each bill was watermarked. I probably acquired these in the late 80s/early 90s, which was before US bills started being watermarked (that didn't occur until 1996). So of course this feature of foreign currencies made good ol' greenbacks seem that much more boring.
Large bill watermark
The watermarks on the two biggest bills are different from those on the smaller bills - clearly featuring soviet-era hammer & sickle imagery. In fact, these bills are absolutely covered with such imagery, from the soviet star, to images glamorizing the folks working the fields. Not surprising, since at that time Bulgaria was very closely allied with the Soviet Union.
But willendorfia, you have paper currency from lots of different countries. Why'd you pick these to share now?
Glad you asked!
I'm just slightly obsessed right now with Bulgaria. Specifically, a little town called Bansko, though the capital Sofia has a lot to recommend it as well.
Quaint scene in Bansko. Photo by Vera Mezhvynskiy on Unsplash
You see, when I started building my business, one of the reasons I went the route I did was that I wanted to be able to do my work at any time of day or night, and not be stuck working standard 8-5 business hours. At the time this was because my health was so poor and my sleep cycle so disrupted that I literally needed that kind of freedom in order to be able to get my work done and delivered on time.
Now, though, I've reached a point where I can (and usually do) work that 8-5 sort of day. Sure, I have a lot of flexibility, as long as I don't have to be on a Zoom call, but I've found it easiest to work those hours because that's when my brain is generally sharpest.
And now that my health is coming back to me, I realized the other day that the digital nomad path is technically open to me. I don't have to be online at any particular time more than a couple times per week, so what's stopping me from spending a month in another country? Absolutely nothing!
Cathedral in Sofia. Image by NakNakNak from Pixabay
Naturally I have to do this wisely, in terms of finances; I have no desire to sell my home and roam permanently, so I need to make enough to maintain the homestead, as it were. But the idea of spending a month here or there every year or so, having time to truly immerse myself in the culture, food, and history, is fabulous! And when I started researching places that are popular with digital nomads for their reasonable cost of living & working, Bulgaria came out near the top of the list.
So that's where I've set my sights for the time being. I don't have a specific date by which I think I'll be able to pull this off, but hopefully some time in the next couple of years.
Have a great day, y'all!
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
Grateful Member of Hive's Best Family!
Fun to see! Interesting to learn! And thank you for the inclusion in your footer links for @pollenation witness coming online!
De nada! I see you (and Witty!) out there doing the good work, even if I don't have the time to do much more than cheer from the sidelines. 🐝
Well then you're doing what we hoped for. More of this, not so much for us, but that helps, but for the chain and interesting content!
I have a few notes from all over the world too, they make great backdrops for coins. Delving into the date, symbols, and background often reveal a bit of economic history behind the notes.
What I'm playing with my kids offline,
Yaass! I did encounter the card game once in the wild, but it was at a game night, and the majority picked something else to play (Poetry for Neanderthals instead, which I gotta admit was damn fun), so I have yet to actually play it! That said, I've been a fan of The Oatmeal (Matthew Inman) ever since I first discovered his work, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually.
Then I might as well show the bottom of the box. This game is hilarious.
A "highly strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette." I love it! 🤣
What an exotic, Old World locale! Think of the blogs you'll be able to write! 😁
Fair point! Although most of them will likely have to wait until I return. I know a month sounds like a long time, but when you're working a normal schedule for most of that time, you gotta spend your evenings and weekends doing the exploring, rather than the blogging. 😊
That's what I meant — taking photos & storing memories in your brain, for later! 😁
You must be killin' it out here!
@thekittygirl just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @willendorfia.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/2 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
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