A Collection of the Coins of Albania

Albania, Republic, bronze 10-Qindar Leku, 1926 (KM 2). Mint state, toned, but still lustrous, scarce, particularly in this state (£40-50)

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

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Mintage of 511,000 pieces. A simple yet masterly design by Romagnoli. The eagle is an attribute of sky gods, victory, and spiritual power in many cultures. Romagnoli would have been well aware of this, but Albanians for the most part probably not. But they would have recognised the visual pun. The Albanian name for their country is “Shqipni” ; the word deriving from shqipe (eagle) to form “land of the eagle”. Interestingly, Romagnoli’s did not adopt a stylised or semi-heraldic approach but instead chose to emphasise the eagle’s ferocity and wildness.