Albania Rolls Out New Series with Two More Notes

The Bank of Albania has unveiled the next two denominations in its new series – the 1,000 and 10,000 lekës, which go into circulation at the end of June.

Notes of the previous series (except the 2,000 lekë), were put into circulation in 1996. The introduction of the new series, with a modern design and the latest security features, began in 2019. The 200 and 5,000 lekë notes were the first to be issued. The issue of the new 1,000 and 10,000 lekë notes was originally scheduled for last year, but was delayed due to the pandemic. The final two notes in the series, the 500 and 2,000 lekës, will follow next year. Other than the 200, which is produced on SAFEGUARD® polymer, all the notes are paper.

The 10,000 lekë is a new denomination. Like the 5,000 lekë before it, the key security feature is a stripe displaying multiple optical effects created with KINEGRAM ^® technology. The stripe is applied in register to the print and partially metallised in multiple patch-like shapes.

At the top of the stripe, the Bank of Albania’s main building is depicted, displaying both an achromatic and a colourful diffractive watermark effect, ie. the contrast of the colours and greyscale tones reverse when the banknote is rotated.

The stripe also features a true-colour portrait of the Albanian poet and author of the Albanian national anthem, Asdreni, which corresponds to the printed portrait.

At the bottom of the stripe and referring to Asdreni’s work are a three-dimensional feather and an open book, surrounded by a brightly shining outline effect, which appears in rainbow colours when the banknote is tilted.

Other security features include a colour shifting thread from Hueck Folien and SICPA’s SPARK® Live.

The 1,000 lekë banknote comes with a refreshed design, but retains the same motifs as the existing denomination, including the portrait of the 17th century Albanian writer Pjetër Bogdani. The main security features are a colour shifting security thread from De La Rue and SPARK Live.

The new series was designed by De La Rue, who also printed the 200 and 5,000. The two latest notes were printed by Oberthur Fidicuaire.