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5 Lekë Albanian Railroads, Essai
| Issuer | Albania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central field presents a finely detailed depiction of a steam locomotive viewed from a three-quarter frontal angle, emerging powerfully from a circular tunnel mouth with radiating lines suggesting light or speed; a long passenger train recedes along a curved track to the left. The word ALBANIA arcs prominently along the upper periphery in large spaced capitals. Five small five-pointed stars are distributed symmetrically around the lower half of the field. The inscriptions PROVA and ESSAI appear in the left and right fields respectively, confirming the essai nature of the piece, while the denomination 5 LEKE and the date 1988 are inscribed in the lower portion of the field, all within a beaded border. |
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| Additional information |
Albania's railway network was almost entirely a product of forced labor — convicts, political prisoners, and conscripted youth brigades built the lines from the 1940s onward under Enver Hoxha's isolationist regime. By 1988, when this essai was produced, Albania had one of the lowest rail capacities per capita in Europe, making the commemorative choice pointed in its own way. Essais from this period were struck for potential export sale and collector sets rather than circulation, as the Albanian lek was inconvertible and the domestic coin market effectively nonexistent.