Catalog
5 Lek
| Issuer | Banka e Shtetit Shqiptar (State Bank of Albania) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Old lek (1926-1965) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 REPUBLIKA POPULLORE E SHQIPERISE E VLEFSHME VETËM PËR DYQANIN E SHITJES ME AR E VALUTE DORËZONI PARAQITËSIT MALLRA PËR VLEFTËN BUONA LEK 5 ME ÇMIMET E VEÇANTA TË SHKËMBIMIT ME VALUTË DREJTORI I PËRGJITHËSHËM DREJTORI I THESARIT BANKA E SHTETIT SHQIDTAR 1965 (Translation: People's Republic of Albania. Valid only for gold and currency shop. Give the currency value to the current currency voucher. 5 lek voucher. With special currency exchange rates. General director. Treasury director. State Bank of Albania.) |
| Reverse description | Blue letterpress print on pale green and yellow guilloche underprint, with an elaborate ornamental border of interlocking scrollwork framing the entire note. The circular bank seal of the Banka e Shtetit Shqiptar is positioned at centre, surrounded by a dense rosette guilloche vignette. Repeated underprint text bearing the bank and state names runs horizontally across the field. |
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| Comments |
Albania's 1965 currency reform was part of a broader Stalinist economic consolidation under Enver Hoxha, issued during the period when Albania had broken with the Soviet Union and aligned itself firmly with Maoist China. Chinese technical and financial support underwrote much of the Albanian state apparatus in this period, though the banknotes themselves were printed domestically in Tirana.
The 1965 series replaced the 1957 issue at par — no redenomination, just a political and aesthetic refresh. Circulation wear on the lower denominations tends to be heavy; the 5 Lek was an actively used everyday note in an economy with few consumer goods and rigid price controls.