The Bank of Albania, pursuant to Law No. 8269, dated 23.12.1997 "On the Bank of Albania" and in conformity with the monetary policy approved by the Supervisory Council, determines the quantity and decides on the printing and minting procedures of the national banknotes and coins having a legal tender, as well as the coins and banknotes printed and minted for numismatic purposes.
What is numismatics?
Numismatics is the science which deals with the collection of coins and paper currency from early times to the most recent ones.
In our country, the genesis of coin minting was in the 7th - 6th centuries in Dyrrah (present Durrės) and Apollonia (Pojan in Fieri). The coins minted during this period mark the starting point of the collection history of coins for numismatic purposes.
Only in mid 1970, numismatics started to gain popularity with regard to the collection of banknotes.
Coins and banknotes are similar in the fact that they serve as legal liabilities for commercial services. However, this similarity was later on realized by banknotes fans.
In many countries, banknotes and coins collection was banned. Only three decades ago, collectors could refer to a small limited number of catalogues and the merchants' prices, most of which were incomplete and hard to find, or they could build up their knowledge through personal research or contacts with other collectors.
Nowadays, coins and banknotes are an object of collection for all numismatists throughout the world. In Albania it was established the Collectors Federate of Albania, in which adhere people fond of collecting Albanian coins, banknotes and stamps.
Considering the significance that the maintenance and evidence of issue history of all Albanian coins and banknotes presents, in 2002 the Bank of Albania published the catalogue of Albanian banknotes and coins for the period from antiquity to 2002.
Catalogue of Albanian Banknotes and Coins
Contents of the Catalogue
