5 Lek

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.