Catalog
50 Lekë
| Issuer | Banka e Shtetit Shqiptar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949-1957 |
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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 | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANKA E SHTETIT SHQIPTAR PESËDHJETË LEKË LIGJA DËNON ATA QË FABRIKOJNË DHE NDAJNË BILETA TË FALSIFIKUARA (Translation: State Bank of Albania Fifty leke The law punishes those who fabricate and distribute counterfeit banknotes) |
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| Variants | P#29a - Issued note P#29s - Specimen. Red overprint: MODEL on face and in reverse on back |
| Comments |
Goznak had been printing Soviet bloc satellite currency since the late 1940s, and Albania's 1949 series was part of that same post-war package — Moscow supplying both the printing and, through Hoxha's government, the political architecture behind the currency reform. The 50 Lekë was issued by the State Bank of Albania, established in 1945 after the communist takeover dissolved the earlier National Bank arrangements.
The watermark is the only security feature, which was typical of Goznak's simpler export jobs for smaller client states in this period. Albania broke with the Soviet Union in 1961, well after this series had run its course.