Economy of Bulgaria (574 euro) (December, 2017). The national currency is the lev (plural leva), pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 leva for 1 euro. The lev is the strongest and most stable currency in Eastern Europe. The strongest sectors in the economy are energy, mining, metallurgy, machine building, agriculture and tourism. Primary industrial exports are clothing, iron and steel, machinery and refined fuels. The trading partners with largest contribution to the import/export are Germany, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Russia, France, Spain, Poland, Netherlands, China, Hungary and Belgium. Sofia is the capital and economic heart of Bulgaria and home to
Fractional currency were employed: experimental paper, adding surcharges, overprints, blue end paper, silk fibers, and watermarks to name a few. Fractional currency shields which had single sided specimens were sold to banks to provide a standard for comparison for detecting counterfeits. Postage and fractional currency remained in use until 1876, when Congress authorized the minting of fractional silver coins to redeem the outstanding fractional currency. Three people were depicted on fractional currency during their lifetime: Francis E. Spinner (Treasurer of the United States), William P. Fessenden (U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Treasury), and Spencer M. Clark (Superintendent of the National Currency