Albania 1937-R frang ar KM-18
This specimen was lot 40481 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[1] noted, "ALBANIA. Frang Ar, 1937-R. Rome Mint. Zog I. PCGS MS-67+. 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. She was occupied by Austria during World War One but had her independence restored by the Treaty of Versailles. King Zog, 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 plus 600,000 of the regular issue (KM 16).
Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.134 troy oz ASW, 23 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-18 (the image in the SCWC is of KM 16).
- 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.
Link to: