Post-communist coinage of Albania

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Obverse of the 100 leke coin.

In the year 2000 Albania issued a new high denomination circulation coin.

The bimetallic 100 leke coin had an aluminium-bronze center within a copper-nickel ring.

The obverse design featured Teuta, Queen of Illyria.

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Reverse of the 100 leke coin.

The reverse featured another wreath of oleander flowers.

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METAL CHANGES

Since then Albania has also issued a few circulating commemorative coins.

Here, however, I am only concerned with regular circulation coins.


In 2008 a copper-plated steel version of the 1 lek coin was issued.

Its size and obverse and reverse designs did not change.


In 2009 a brass-plated steel version of the 10 leke coin was issued.

Its size and obverse and reverse designs did not change.

In 2012 a brass-plated steel version of the 20 leke coin was issued.

Its size and obverse and reverse designs did not change.


Since then there have been no changes to report.

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Indigenous ethnic Albanians in Europe.

On the map above, Vardarska is the Republic of North Macedonia.

From Wikipedia:

Approximately 5 million Albanians are geographically distributed across the Balkan Peninsula, with about half this number living in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, and to a lesser extent in Croatia and Serbia. There are also significant immigrant Albanian populations in Greece.

Approximately 1.8 million Albanians are concentrated in the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo. They are geographically distributed south of the municipality of North Mitrovica and constitute the overall majority ethnic group of the territory.

In Montenegro, the Albanian population is currently estimated to be around 30,000, forming one of the constituent ethnic minority groups of the country. They predominantly live in the coastal region of Montenegro around the municipalities of Ulcinj and Bar but also around Plav in the northern region, as well as in the capital city of Podgorica in the central region.

In North Macedonia, there are more than approximately 500,000 Albanians, constituting the largest ethnic minority group in the country. The vast majority of the Albanians are chiefly concentrated around the municipalities of Tetovo and Gostivar in the north-western region, Struga and Debar in the south-western region, and around the capital of Skopje in the central region.


The historical settlement of the Arbanasi people is presently a neighborhood of Zadar in Croatia.

In Croatia, the number of Albanians stands at approximately 17.500 mostly concentrated in the counties of Istria, Split-Dalmatia and most notably in the capital city of Zagreb. The Arbanasi people who historically migrated to Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine live in scattered communities across Bulgaria, Croatia and Southern Ukraine.

In Serbia, the Albanians are an officially recognised ethnic minority group with a population of around 70,000. They are significantly concentrated in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo in the Pčinja District.

In Romania, the number of Albanians is unofficially estimated from 500 to 10,000, mainly distributed in Bucharest. They are recognised as an ethnic minority group and are respectively represented in the Parliament of Romania.

The ethnic Albanians of Kosovo use the euro, though without being a part of the euro zone. The Serbs of Kosovo still use the Serbian dinar, however.

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Here you see the Albanian coins side by side.

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RELATED TOPICS

Albania: Coins of the 1920s.

Coinage of Albania under Italian occupation.

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RELATED TOPICS

01] Bessarabia, Moldavia, Moldova and Transnistria.

02] Coinage of Belarus.

03] Coinage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

04] Coinage of modern Serbia.

05] Coinage of North Macedonia.

06] Coinage of the Czech Republic.

07] Croatia: post-Yugoslav coinage.

08] Czechoslovak heroes on post-communist circulation coins.

09] Hungary: post-communist coinage.

10] Poland: Design series of 1995.

11] Post-communist coinage of Albania.

12] Post-communist coinage of Lithuania.

13] Post-communist coinage of Romania.

14] Slovakia's first post-communist coin series.

15] Slovenia: post-Yugoslav coinage.

16] Romanian and Moldovan Variations of the 1990s.

17] The final coin series of Yugoslavia.

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Who knows what the flower is on the reverse of the 1 lek coin, at the left?

The other plant looks like an oak twig with acorns.

[Figleaf]

It looks like the common poppy. Wiki says:

Red-flowered poppy is unofficially considered the national flower of the Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and elsewhere. This is due to its red and black colours, the same as the colours of the flag of Albania.

Peter

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That's a possibility.  But on the design I see one flower with 5 petals. "Flowers of species (not cultivars) have 4 or 6 petals". That could just be the artist's mistake, though.

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Here again is the flower on the reverse of the 1 lek coin.

New Zealand numismatist Martin Purdy's wife Rita has identified it as an oleander.

That looks exactly right, to my eyes.

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Albanian stamp of 1965.  Nerium Oleander.

This 10 qindar stamp depicts oleander flowers.