Ironically, 13 days before the lev's replacement with the euro, Kina Gurbova passed away at the age of 81 – the only woman from the people printed on a Bulgarian banknote in mass circulation.
Kina Dvuilevkata, as she was known throughout Bulgaria, died after a short illness at the Regional Hospital "Dr. Stefan Cherkezov".
The doctors fought until the last moment for her life, blood transfusions were necessary, for which blood donors were immediately found, announced the mayor of Suhindol, Eng. Plamen Chernev, who had maintained contact with his fellow citizen and with the medical team until the end.
Kina Gurbova is perhaps the most famous person from Suhindol. Her image was imprinted for 34 years on the two-lev banknote, which was in circulation from 1962 to 1996.
Because of her great popularity, she was also declared an honorary citizen of Suhindol, recalls the Veliko Tarnovo edition "Borba".
The second woman on a Bulgarian banknote is Sofka Kocheva from Lyaskovets, who appears on the 100 lev note, 1951 issue. The subjects of both banknotes present Kina and Sofka as grape harvesters.
This is part of the modern trend of the 50s and 60s to present hardworking people from the sphere of industry on Bulgarian levs.