Catalog
100 Franga
| Issuer | Banka Kombëtare e Shqipnis |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Franga Ari = 500 Lek (500 ALK) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A seated female allegorical figure holds a sickle in her right hand, resting among sheaves of wheat, rendered in a classical intaglio style. A green double-headed eagle vignette occupies the centre of the note. The design is framed by guilloche borders with bilingual inscriptions in Albanian and Italian. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | FRANGA 100 FRANCHI (Translation: 100 FRANCS) |
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| Comments |
Issued in April 1940 under Italian occupation — Mussolini had annexed Albania the previous year — the Banka Kombëtare e Shqipnis was in practice a subsidiary operation of the Banca d'Italia, which both printed and effectively controlled the currency. The note circulated alongside Italian lire as Albania was formally integrated into the Italian imperial economy.
The Banca d'Italia's intaglio printing is technically accomplished, as one would expect from a state institution that also produced Italy's own wartime issues during the same period. Pick lists this as P#8 within the Albanian occupation series, which runs only a handful of types — the entire series was short-lived, rendered obsolete by the 1943 Italian armistice and subsequent German occupation.