Albanian lek

Lek
Country:	Albania Albania
Subdivision:	no
ISO 4217 code :	ALLES
Abbreviation:	ALLES
Exchange rate : (29 Mar 2020)	1 EUR = 126 ALL 100 ALL = 0.79365 EUR 1 CHF = 117.34 ALL 100 ALL = 0.85222 CHF
Issuer :	Banka e Shqipërisë

The Lek ( Albanian indefinite, definite: Leku ; plural : Lekë or Lekët ) has been the currency of Albania since 1925 . In parlance, lek also means money in general .

Means of payment

100 lek note

The lek is not a freely convertible currency. The course is supported by the Banka e Shqipërisë against the euro remained relatively stable. Since the introduction of the euro, it has usually fluctuated between 120 and 140 Lek for one euro. As a means of payment are bank notes of 200, 500, 1000, issued in 2000 and 5000 Lek. The 100 Lek note was withdrawn from circulation on January 1, 2009. An coins exist today pieces of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 (two series) and 100 Lek. In addition to the lek, euros are also widely used as a means of payment in Albania.

A new series of banknotes has been gradually introduced since September 2019. The motifs remain the same in the new series, but the design and security features are renewed. The new 200-Lek-Noten is a plastic bank note made from polymer . A new note for 10,000 Lek is to be introduced in 2020.

history

Before Albania gained independence in 1912, the country was officially the Ottoman currency ( Akçe , Para and Kuruş ). Western gold coins , especially Italian lire and French francs, were also in circulation. The introduction of a separate Albanian currency was delayed due to various occupying governments during the First World War and a lack of state organization. Above all, the money from the Latin Monetary Union was used ; based on these, however, their own gold francs ( Albanian Franga Ari ) were also put into circulation.

The introduction of the Lek is closely related to the establishment of the Central Bank of Albania . This was founded on September 2, 1925 by the Ahmet Zogu government in Rome , based on Law No. 356 of July 12, 1925. In the last few months of this year, the minting of the Lek coins and notes began immediately. At that time 1 lek was worth 0.2 gold francs.

In 1926 the second series of notes followed, which were described in Albanian as well as in Italian . The second series consisted of two variants that appeared in February and March 1926, respectively.

Between 1925 and 1939, the years of Ahmet Zogu's presidency and monarchy , four banknotes were in circulation, one of which was available in two versions. In 1940 the central bank printed a series of banknotes comprising small notes of 2, 5 and 10 lek. This monetary system lasted until the surrender of fascist Italy in September 1943, when the banking relationships between Italy and Albania dissolved. However, in order to counteract the shortage of paper money and rising inflation, the central bank of Albania put checks to the value of 20, 100, 200, 500, 2000 and 5000 Albanian francs in circulation on September 18 of the same year . On July 1, 1944, a second series of checks appeared, also from the central bank of Albania, with a value of 20 and 100 Albanian francs. All of these checks were in circulation in Albania until 1946.

Under the rule of the communists, the lek became the sole currency. The only fictitious link to the metal value was abandoned after 1945 and the increasingly issued paper money finally prevailed. Between 1947 and 1964, the People's Socialist Republic of Albania only had Lekë stamped.

In 1964 a currency reform was carried out, which consisted in removing a zero from the monetary value: 1 “new” lek was worth 10 “old” lek, so there was again Qindarka as change. What is special: Even today, Albanians usually still count in “old” lek ( alb . Lekë të vjetra ) and refer to a 10- denomination as 100 or a 5,000-note as 50,000. The same applies to the prices that are signposted in "new" Lek (alb. Lekë të reja ) but pronounced in old Lek.

After the fall of the dictatorship in 1990, the value of the lek quickly declined and the subunit Qindarka (singular: Qindar , more rarely written Quindar , from alb. Qind 'hundred') was abolished again. Today the one-lek piece is the smallest coin in circulation.

Banknotes

value	Series 1992					Series 1996					Series 2007					Series 2019
value	colour	Front.	Back	First edition	Out of traffic	colour	Front.	Back	First edition	Out of traffic	colour	Front.	Back	First edition	Out of traffic	Color / material	Front.	Back	First edition
100 lek	violet	partisan	Eagles, mountains	1994	December 31, 2010	purple	Fan Noli	houses of Parliament	1997	December 31, 2010	today as a coin
200 lek	brown	Ismail Qemali	coat of arms	1992	December 31, 2010	brown	Naim Frashëri	Birthplace in Frashër	1997	in circulation						brown / polymer	Naim Frashëri	Birthplace in Frashër	September 30, 2019
500 lek	blue	Naim Frashëri	Poem by Frashëri	1992	December 31, 2012	blue	Ismail Qemali	Building of the proclamation of independence	1997	in circulation						blue	Ismail Qemali	Building of the proclamation of independence	2022Template: future / in 2 years
1000 lek	green	Skanderbeg	Kruja Castle	1992	December 31 2013	green	Pjetër Bogdani	Vau-Deja Church	1997	in circulation						green	Pjetër Bogdani	Vau-Deja Church	2020
2000 Lek	-										purple	King Gentius	Butrint Theater	2008	in circulation	purple	King Gentius	Butrint Theater	2021
5000 lek	-					cute	Skanderbeg	Kruja Castle	1999	in circulation						cute	Skanderbeg	Kruja Castle	September 30, 2019
10,000 lek	-															?	Asdreni	?	2020

Coins

value	presentation
1 lek	pelican
5 lek	Albanian eagle
10 lek	Fortress of Berat
20 lek	Liburnian
50 lek	King Gentius
100 lek	Queen Teuta

Web links

Commons : Albanian Coins and Banknotes - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Albanian State Bank (English)
Albanian banknotes ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
The banknotes of Albania

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Banknotes in circulation. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . Accessed May 5, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b Coins in circulation. In: Banka e Shqipëris. Accessed May 5, 2019 .
^ ^A ^b Bank of Albania launches new banknote series. Press release. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . September 12, 2019, accessed on September 14, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Kartmonedha shqiptare, historia nis me Zogun. Koha Jonë , October 8, 2007, archived from the original on March 3, 2012 ; Retrieved on May 16, 2012 (Albanian, The Albanian paper money, the story begins with Zogu).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Banknotes issued by the National Bank of Albania from 1926 to 1945. Banka e Shqipërisë, accessed on May 5, 2019 (English, banknote series of the Central Bank of Albania between 1926 and 1945).
↑ Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old dimensions, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 375.
↑ Address by 2nd Deputy Governor Ahmetaj at the launching ceremony of the new Albanian banknote series. Press release. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . September 12, 2019, accessed on September 14, 2019 .

[bankacb-1] Banknotes in circulation. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . Accessed May 5, 2019 .

[bank123-2] Coins in circulation. In: Banka e Shqipëris. Accessed May 5, 2019 .

[boa2019-3] A ^b Bank of Albania launches new banknote series. Press release. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . September 12, 2019, accessed on September 14, 2019 .

[koha-4] Kartmonedha shqiptare, historia nis me Zogun. Koha Jonë , October 8, 2007, archived from the original on March 3, 2012 ; Retrieved on May 16, 2012 (Albanian, The Albanian paper money, the story begins with Zogu).

[serien-5] Banknotes issued by the National Bank of Albania from 1926 to 1945. Banka e Shqipërisë, accessed on May 5, 2019 (English, banknote series of the Central Bank of Albania between 1926 and 1945).

[6] Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old dimensions, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 375.

[7] Address by 2nd Deputy Governor Ahmetaj at the launching ceremony of the new Albanian banknote series. Press release. In: Banka e Shqipërisë . September 12, 2019, accessed on September 14, 2019 .