2 Lek - Victor Emmanuel III

Albania's Italian-issue coinage of 1939–41 was a direct product of Mussolini's April 1939 invasion and annexation, which forced out King Zog I and installed Victor Emmanuel III as the new Albanian monarch. The acmonital composition — an Italian-developed stainless steel alloy — was chosen partly out of wartime nickel conservation, a policy Mussolini's government had been rolling out across its monetary system since the mid-1930s.

Production effectively ceased as Allied pressure on Italy mounted. Surviving examples in uncirculated condition are not unusual; the occupation economy was disrupted enough that much of the issue saw limited everyday use.