3 Lekë

Albania's banknotes of the 1964–1976 series were produced in China, a direct reflection of the peculiar diplomatic alignment that made Maoist China virtually Albania's only significant international partner after Tirana's rupture with Moscow in 1961 and the subsequent estrangement from Yugoslavia. The printing contract was part of broader Chinese material assistance to the Hoxha government, covering industrial equipment, military supplies, and — apparently — currency production.

The relationship collapsed acrimoniously after Mao's death and China's rapprochement with the West, with Albania formally denouncing Beijing in 1978. Notes from this series therefore mark a narrow and now-closed diplomatic window.