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ElderZamzam (talk | contribs) →History: Jürgen Fischer (1999) and US State Dept. (1970) |
→Etymology: Based on "Parliamentary Discussions 1922/1" published on the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania, on page 312, the process of how this currency got its name is described and this has also been confirmed by the Albanian well-known journalist and publicist, Blendi Fevziu: https://www.instagram.com/blendifevziu/reel/DCUlP74Ncj_/ |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox currency
| local_name =
| local_name_lang = sq
| image_1 =
| image_title_1 =
| image_2 = Albanien2.jpg
| image_title_2 =
| iso_code = ALL
| iso_comment = before 1990: {{ISO 4217|ALK}}
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| date_of_introduction = 16 February 1926
| date_of_introduction_source =
| using_countries = {{
| inflation_rate =
| inflation_source_date = ''[https://www.bankofalbania.org/Politika_Monetare/Objektivi_dhe_strategjia/]''
| subunit_ratio_1 = {{frac|1|100}}
| subunit_name_1 = qindarkë
| unit = lek
| plural =
| plural_subunit_1 = qindarka
| frequently_used_coins = 5
| rarely_used_coins = [[1 lek|1
| coin_article =
| frequently_used_banknotes = 200
| rarely_used_banknotes = 10,000
| symbol = L
| symbol_subunit_1 =
}}
The '''lek''' ({{langx|sq|leku shqiptar}}; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; [[Currency symbol|sign]]: '''L''';<ref>{{cite
==History==
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The lek was introduced as the first Albanian currency in February 1926.<ref>Bank of Albania. Available at:{{cite web |url=http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/A_brief_history_of_the_Bank_of_Albania_5338_2.php |title=A brief history of the Bank of Albania |access-date=2014-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025184745/http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/A_brief_history_of_the_Bank_of_Albania_5338_2.php |archive-date=25 October 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
Before then, Albania was a country without a currency, adhering to a [[gold standard]] for the fixation of commercial values. Before the First World War, the [[Ottoman Turkish piastre]] was in full circulation
===
From 1926–1939, the Albanian leke adhered to the [[gold standard]] ''de jure'' with leke banknotes being convertible to gold. The leke's conversion to gold was guaranteed and the issue of gold francs was limited to three million units.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceca |first1=Kliti |last2=Rexha |first2=Kelmend |last3=Orhan |first3=Elsida |title=Banking and Finance in South-Eastern Europe: the Albanian Case |journal=Bank of Greece |date=2008 |volume=84 |ssrn=4165566 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4165566 |access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> Due to the gold standard, up until 1939, the leke did not experience significant inflation and the currency in circulation remained relatively constant.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jürgen Fischer |first1=Bernd |title=Albania at War 1939-1945 |date=1999 |publisher=C Hurst & Co |location=United Kingdom |isbn=1-85065-531-6 |page=48}}</ref> Following the [[Italian invasion of Albania]], the entire gold reserves of Albania, totaling 300,000 gold francs, were confiscated and sent to the [[Reichsbank]] in Berlin. This action, coupled with the introduction of the Italian lira in Albania, led to significant inflation and the devaluation of the leke.<ref>{{cite book |last1=State |first1=US Dept of. |title=Foreign Relations of the United States: 1946 |date=1970 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=United States of America |page=806}}</ref>
The lek was named after [[Alexander the Great]],<ref name="DunklingRoom1990">{{cite book|author1=Leslie Alan Dunkling|author2=Adrian Room|title=The Guinness Book of Money|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbSaAAAAIAAJ|date=1 January 1990|publisher=Guinness Publishing|isbn=978-0-85112-399-8|page=67|quote="...the lek takes its name from the abbreviated name of Alexander the Great, who was associated with this region of Europe..."}}</ref> whose name is often shortened to ''Leka'' in Albanian.<ref name="Berlin2006">{{cite book|author=Howard M. Berlin|title=World Monetary Units: An Historical Dictionary, Country By Country|url=https://archive.org/details/worldmonetaryuni00berl|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub|isbn=978-0-7864-2080-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldmonetaryuni00berl/page/8 8]|quote="...The current monetary unit, the lek, is derived from the abbreviation of the Albanian spelling of Alexander the Great..."}}</ref> Alexander's portrait appeared on the [[obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the 1 lek coin, while the reverse showed him on his horse.▼
===Etymology===
▲The
===Franga===
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==={{anchor|ALL}}Third lek===
In 1995 and 1996, new coins were introduced in denominations of 1 Lek, 5
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
Line 102 ⟶ 103:
| [[File:G901.jpg|50px]]
| [[File:G900.jpg|50px]]
| [[5 Lekë
| 20 mm
|1.6 mm
Line 113 ⟶ 114:
| [[File:G817.jpg|53px]]
| [[File:G818.jpg|53px]]
| [[10 Lekë
| 21.25 mm
|1.5 mm
Line 125 ⟶ 126:
| [[File:G392.jpg|58px]]
| [[File:G393.jpg|58px]]
| [[20 Lekë
| 23 mm
|2 mm
Line 136 ⟶ 137:
| [[File:G765.jpg|61px]]
| [[File:G766.jpg|61px]]
| [[50 Lekë
| 24.25 mm
|1.5 mm
Line 145 ⟶ 146:
|1996
|-
|[[File:50 Leke 2003 Reverse.jpg|61px]]
|▼
|[[File:50 Leke 2003 Obverse.jpg|61px]]
|▼
|[[50 Lekë
|24.25 mm
|
Line 159 ⟶ 160:
| [[File:G920.jpg|62px]]
| [[File:G921.jpg|62px]]
| [[100 Lekë (coin)|100
| 24.75 mm
|1.9 mm
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====Commemorative coins====
In 2001, 100
==Banknotes==
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{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
▲|+
|-
! colspan="6" | 1964 and 1976 series
|-
!Obverse
Line 301 ⟶ 303:
| Man showing his son a new hydroelectric dam
| Steelworker with oil worker, gesturing grandly, steelworks and oil wells in background
▲|-
| colspan="6" |1991 Series
|-
|[[File:AlbaniaP47a-100Leke-1991-donatedoy b.jpg|frameless|297x297px]]
|[[File:AlbaniaP47a-100Leke-1991-donatedoy f.jpg|frameless|296x296px]]
|100 Lek
|purple
|Steelworkers in front of a factory
|factory
|-
|[[File:500 lek (1991) obverse.jpg|frameless|296x296px]]
|[[File:500 lek (1991) reverse.jpg|frameless|293x293px]]
|500 Lek
|blue, orange
|Woman with sunflowers, denonimation ornament
|Mountain landscape
|}
====1992 series====
Due to the shortage of cash in circulation, in 1992, banknotes of 10 and 50 foreign currency leks (''Lek Valutë'' ) were issued, while their value was increased 50 times: 10 foreign currency leks = 500 leks, 50 foreign currency leks = 2500 leks . The banknotes were in circulation for only one year and were soon replaced by banknotes of the 1992 model. A banknote of 1 currency lek was printed, but not put into circulation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-04-30 |title=Banknotes issued from 1945-1992 |url=http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Banknotes_issued_from_1945_1992_2044_2.php#1992#1992 |access-date=2023-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430234520/http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Banknotes_issued_from_1945_1992_2044_2.php#1992#1992 |
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
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|Violet
| rowspan="3" |Steel worker
| rowspan="3" |Electrical transmission towers, hydroelectric generator
|-
|[[File:AlbaniaP49a-10LekValute(=500Leke)-(1992)-donated f.jpg|frameless|300x300px]]
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|-
|}
Since 2011 the 100 lek banknote has been removed out of circulation.
====2019–2022 series====
In 2019, the [[Bank of Albania]] unveiled a new series of banknotes, featuring the same themes as seen on the 1997 series, but with improved security features and a change in material for the 200 Lek banknote; now being issued as a [[polymer banknote]].
This series has also introduced a new denomination, the 10,000 Lek, its highest denominated banknote issued for general circulation. The first two denominations issued for this series, the 200 and 5,000 lekë banknote were issued for circulation on 30 September 2019, with the 1,000 Lek and 10,000 Lek banknotes being released on 30 June 2021, and the 2,000 Lek and 500 Lek banknotes being released on 17 January 2022.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
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| Brown
|[[Naim Frashëri]]
| House birthplace of Frashëri, paper with a famous verse from one of Frashëri's poems
|-
|[[File:500Lek-768x405.png|132px]]
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| Blue
| [[Ismail Qemali]]
| [[Vlorë]] independence building, the telegraph which was used to announce the country's independence, and the room where the decision was made
|-
|[[File:1000lek-768x383.png|139px]]
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|Yellow
| [[Skanderbeg]]
| [[Krujë Castle]], [[Skanderbeg]]'s monument in [[Tirana]]'s [[Skanderbeg Square]], and his helmet
|-
|[[File:ALBW2019-10000o.jpg|160px|]]
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|Orange
| [[Aleksandër Stavre Drenova|Asdreni]] (1872–1947)
|Figurative symbols of national flag,
|}
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==See also==
{{Portal|Money|Numismatics}}
* [[Franga]]
* [[Korçë frange]]
* [[Economy of Albania]]
{{Notelist}}
==References==
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==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150801050659/http://banknoter.com/s/albania Albanian Lek: Full detailed Catalog of Banknotes of Albania since 1926] (archived 1 August 2015)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110102223337/http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Banknotes_issued_from_1926_to_1945_2409_2.php?kc=0,6,3,5,0 All Albanian coins and additional information] (archived 2 January 2011)
* [http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/Albania.php Coin Types from Albania] Lists, pictures, and values of Albanian coin types
* [http://www.baudelet.net/monnaies/lek-albanie.htm Albanian Banknotes]
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[[Category:Currencies introduced in 1926]]
[[Category:Financial system of Albania|Lek]]
[[Category:Circulating currencies]]
[[Category:Currencies of Europe]]
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