Albania, Italian occupation, Victor Emanuele III, silver 10-Lek, 1939 (KM 34) (4). Mostly about extremely fine, scarce (£100-120)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of the Coins of Albania.

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KM (1999) = VF $75, EF $125. Mintage of 175,000.

Throughout the twenties and thirties Zog relied heavily on economic and other links with Italy, so much so that the country almost became a dependency. But not content with this client status, Mussolini, with expansion in mind and eager to gain a foothold in the Balkans, invaded Albania in April 1939. There was some feeble resistance but faced with a modern army, even an Italian one, there was little this small country could do to avoid its fate. Coins, on the Italian model, appeared the same year. They show, somewhat absurdly, the elderly Victor Emanuelle III in a military helmet. Was this intended to depict Italy as protector or conqueror? Italian authorities at the time doubtless would have stressed the former, but Albanians assumed the latter.