Catalog
1 Frange
| Issuer | Finance Director, Korça/Coriza/Korytza |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark red-brown and presents a central vignette of a panoramic townscape of Korça set against a mountain backdrop, rendered in a linear engraved style with minarets and a church tower visible among rooftops. The scene is framed by an arched architectural border with decorative pilasters and ornamental panels at each side. A bold inscription "KORCA" fills the lower panel, with denomination marks "1 fr" in the upper corners and a monogram device at the apex of the arch. |
| Reverse lettering | KORCA 1 fr |
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| Comments |
Korça is one of the stranger episodes in Albanian monetary history. In 1916, French forces established the Autonomous Republic of Korça as a buffer administration in southeastern Albania, and it was under this arrangement that the Finance Director issued local currency — including this 1 Frange note — to service the needs of a population that was neither under Ottoman, Albanian, nor Italian control in any straightforward sense. The republic lasted until 1920, making this entire note series one of the shortest-lived local issues in the Balkans.
The issuing authority listed as "Finance Director" rather than a named bank is itself telling — this was improvised wartime administration, not a functioning central bank.