Albania 1969 5 leke
This specimen was part of lot 751 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $540. The catalog description[1] noted, "ALBANIA: People's Socialist Republic, 3-coin proof set, 1969, 500th Anniversary of Skanderbeg's Commemorative Series with silver 5 lekë - League of Lezhë KM-49.3, silver 10 lekë - Skanderbeg's Death KM-50.3, and silver 25 lekë - Victory over the Turks KM-52.2, with COA and all set in original case of issue, set of 3 coins." Wikipedia comments,
"The League of Lezhë...was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unified independent Albanian country in the Middle ages, with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles."
Albania threw off Communist rule in 1992 but remains backward and corrupt.
Recorded mintage: 1,500 plus 8,540 without the 1969 date above the "5".
Specification: 16.66 g, 0.999 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 49.2, KM-PSA4 (set).
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- 1968 10 lekë, 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Skanderbeg
- 1968 20 lekë, 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Skanderbeg
- 1969 5 qindarka
- 1969 10 qindarka
- 1969 20 qindarka
- 1969 50 qindarka
- 1969 lek
- 1969 10 lekë, death of Skanderbeg
- 1969 25 lekë, sword dance
- Albania 1969 200 leke Buthrotum ruins
- 1970 10 lekë, 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Skanderbeg
- Coins and currency dated 1969