100 Lekë Peasant Girl, Reverse Trial

Albania's 1969 gold series was issued under Enver Hoxha's government as a hard-currency earner for the international collector market — not for domestic circulation. The country was by then in profound economic isolation, having broken with the Soviet Union in 1961 and pivoting briefly toward China. These pieces were produced for export revenue, a calculated contradiction from a regime that otherwise rejected Western financial systems entirely.

Reverse trials of this type are production-stage pieces struck to evaluate die quality or design approval before committing to full runs. Survivor populations are inherently small.