Catalog
500 Lekë
| Issuer | Banka e Shqipërisë (Bank of Albania) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2020 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | At left, a watermark window carries the Albanian coat of arms; at centre and right, a multi-part vignette presents the Vlorë Assembly building where independence was proclaimed, the interior room in which the decision was taken, and the telegraph apparatus through which the declaration was transmitted; the denomination in figures appears at far right within a guilloche panel. The date of issue is printed at lower right. |
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| Protection type | Watermark, Security thread |
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| Comments |
Albania's 500 Lekë note from 2020 is part of the ongoing De La Rue-printed series that has anchored Albanian circulation since the post-communist monetary stabilization of the 1990s. Thomas De La Rue has held the contract for Albanian banknote production across multiple series, a relationship that reflects Banka e Shqipërisë's consistent preference for offshore security printing rather than developing domestic capacity — a common arrangement among smaller central banks where volume doesn't justify the infrastructure.
The security package here is relatively modest for a 2020 issue: watermark and thread without the optically variable elements now routine at this denomination tier in neighboring economies.