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1 Frange
| Issuer | Finance Director, Korça/Coriza/Korytza |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NJE FRANGE DR. I. FINANCES QEVERITARI DELEGAT 4.11.1918 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown and carries a central landscape vignette framed by an arched architectural motif, showing a panoramic view of the town of Korça with mountains in the background, trees, and buildings in the middle ground. Denomination numerals '1fr' appear in the upper left and right corners. The place name 'KORÇA' is inscribed in bold lettering within a decorative cartouche at the base of the vignette. |
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| Comments |
The Korça note exists because of a peculiar eighteen-month window — November 1916 to May 1918 — when French forces administered a self-declared autonomous zone around the city, effectively running a proto-state complete with its own currency and postal service. The Finance Director issuing this note was a French military administrative functionary, not an Albanian central banking authority. That distinction matters: this is an occupation scrip dressed as local currency.
The franc-based denomination — "frange" being the Albanian rendering — tied the zone's economy directly to the French military supply chain rather than to any Ottoman or Albanian monetary precedent. When French forces withdrew and the zone dissolved, these notes became worthless almost immediately.