5 Lekë

Albania's 1964 currency reform replaced the earlier lek at a 10:1 ratio, wiping out residual wartime-era money and consolidating the monetary system under the fully Stalinist economic model Hoxha had locked in place after the 1961 break with the Soviet Union. This note belongs to the series issued in the immediate aftermath of that split, when Albania pivoted sharply toward China for both political backing and, in practical terms, printing assistance.

The print run of just over 12 million is modest even for a low-denomination note in a small, largely self-contained economy with almost no external convertibility.