Coinage of Albania under Italian occupation

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King Zog

Albania emerged from its time under the Ottoman Empire as a backward, agrarian country, with no great sense of itself as a nation-state. King Zog became monarch in 1928, but Italy under Mussolini turned Albania into a virtual protectorate by controlling and restricting vital aspects of its economy.

See also: Albania: Coins of the 1920s.

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Mussolini

In 1939 Adolf Hitler dismembered Czechoslovakia as a country, without giving prior notice to Mussolini, his Fascist ally. Mussolini was furious, and partly out of envy of Hitler, he decided that Italy should now also expand its empire.

From Wikipedia:

On 25 March 1939, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave Albanian King Zog I an ultimatum demanding the acceptance of an Italian military protectorate over Albania. When Zog refused to accept, the Italians invaded on 7 April, and deposed him. Zog subsequently fled the country. Afterwards, the Italians re-established the Albanian state as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy.

On 11 April, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano arranged for a group of well-known Albanians to "request" the formation of the Albanian Fascist Party. By the end of April, the government of Italy approved of its creation. On 23 April, Italian Fascist Party secretary Achille Starace, accompanied by two Italian warships, arrived in Albania to officially announce the establishment of the Albanian Fascist Party, which was founded on 2 June.

The Albanian Fascist Party enacted laws that prevented Jews from joining it and excluded them from professions such as education. Composed of ethnic Albanians and Italians residing in Albania, the party existed as a branch of the Italian Fascist Party (Italian: Partito Nazionale Fascista, or PNF), and members were required to swear an oath of loyalty to Mussolini. All Albanians serving the Italian occupiers were required to join it, and it became the only legal political party in the country.

Here you see the flag of Italian-occupied Albania.

It includes the fasces, which flank Albania's traditional double-headed eagle.

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Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy was now also King of Albania.

Here you see some Albanian stamps of 1939 that show his portrait.

One of the stamps commemorates the April 1939 invasion of Albania.

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COINAGE

From Wikipedia:

A new series of coins in was issued in 1939, in denominations 0.20, 0.50, 1 lek and 2 lek in stainless steel, and silver 5 and 10 lek, with the silver coins only issued that year.

The steel coins were issued for the years 1939, 1940 and 1941.

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The King of Italy wearing a military helmet.



Albania, 0.20 lek, 1941.

The 0.20 lek coin showed the King of Italy in his military helmet.

An image of an eagle appeared on the front of the King's helmet.

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Albania, 0.20 lek, 1941.

The reverse of the 0.20 lek coin showed Albania's new coat of arms.

The traditional double-headed eagle is flanked by fasces.

As well as the Christian era year, the Fascist era year is shown on the right hand side.

The so called Fascist era began in 1922.

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Albania, 0.50 lek, 1939.

The king's portrait on the 0.50 lek coin faced in the opposite direction.

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Albania, 0.50, lek, 1939.  Trial coin.

The reverse of the 0.50 coin was similar to the reverse of the 0.20 coin.

Here you see an official prova (trial) version of the coin.

It differs from the issued design only in that the word "PROVA" appears at the bottom left.

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Albania, 1 lek, 1939.

The 1 lek design was similar to the 0.20 lek design.

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Albania, 2 lek, 1939.  Prova.

Here you see an official prova (trial) version of the 2 lek coin.

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Albania, 5 lek, 1939.

The silver 5 lek coin showed the King bare-headed. The eagle now took up more space on the reverse.

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Albania, 10 lek, 1939.

The 10 lek coin was very similar to the 5 lek.

However, the bust of the King was reversed.

It also extended further into the exergue.

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Albania, 0.05 lek, 1940.

Aluminium-bronze 0.05 and 0.10 lek coins were introduced in 1940 and were also issued in 1941.

The 0.05 lek showed the King bareheaded, and the reverse featured oak leaves with an acorn.

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Albania, 0.10 lek, 1940.

The king's portrait was slightly different and reversed on the 0.10 lek coin.

A sprig of olive leaves appeared on the reverse.

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FASCIST POLICY AND ALBANIA

From Wikipedia:

Albania was important culturally and historically to the nationalist aims of the Italian Fascists, as the territory of Albania had long been part of the Roman Empire, even prior to the annexation of northern Italy by the Romans. Later, during the High Middle Ages some coastal areas (like Durazzo) had been influenced and owned by Italian powers, chiefly the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice for many years (cf. Albania Veneta).

The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians, especially as opposed to the Slavic Yugoslavs. Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were linked through ethnic heritage to Italians due to links with the prehistoric Italiotes, Illyrian and Roman populations, and that the major influence exhibited by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy's right to possess it.

Italy also attempted to legitimize and win public support for its rule over Albania by supporting Albanian irredentism, directed against the predominantly Albanian-populated Kosovo in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Epirus in Greece. Despite the efforts of the Italian vicegerent, Francesco Jacomoni, to stir up insurrections in Greece and create a fifth column, and the favourable reports he sent to the Italian foreign minister Count Ciano, events proved that there was little enthusiasm among the Albanians themselves: after the Italian invasion of Greece, most Albanians either deserted or defected.