200 Lekë

The 200 Lekë series running from 1996 to 2012 coincides with one of the most turbulent financial episodes in modern Albanian history. In early 1997, the collapse of a network of pyramid schemes — into which an estimated one-third of the Albanian population had invested — triggered civil insurrection, the looting of state armories, and the near-complete breakdown of government authority. Notes of this series were in active circulation during that period, and anecdotal evidence from relief organizations operating in Albania at the time suggests significant cash hoarding as the banking system effectively ceased functioning in many regions.

The security specification for this issue is notably minimal — watermark only, with no metallic thread or color-shifting ink — which made it comparatively easy to counterfeit during the chaos of 1997.