50 Lekë Gjirokastër, Reverse Trial

This piece belongs to a series of trial strikings produced by the Albanian state mint in 1969 to evaluate proposed designs for the 50 Lekë commemorative coinage marking the 25th anniversary of Albania's liberation. Trial reverses of this type were struck in limited numbers — typically fewer than a dozen examples per design — and were never released to the public. Most were retained by the issuing authority or exchanged through official diplomatic and numismatic channels during the Soviet bloc era.

The gold plating on trial pieces of this period was applied to simulate the appearance of a proposed precious-metal finish, not to inflate intrinsic value.