Albania 1927-R 2 franga ari
This specimen was lot 40476 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description[1] noted, "ALBANIA. 2 Franga Ari, 1927-R. Rome Mint. Ahmet Zogu (as President). NGC MS-62. From the Star City Homer Collection." Albania was created in 1912 during the Balkan Wars by the Great Powers as a means of preventing the region from falling into Greek or Serbian control. This type was struck for the republic of Albania in 1926-28 when president Ahmet Zogu, with the help of Italy, attempted to bring financial stability to a war-torn country. Zog, later king, tho a ruthless and capable leader, was unable to prevent Albania from falling into Italy's orbit and Mussolini's grandiose plans for the restoration of the Roman Empire. In 1939, Italy invaded and annexed Albania.
Recorded mintage: 50,000.
Specification: 10 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.268 troy oz ASW, 27 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-7.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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