½ Frange

The Korça ½ Frange belongs to one of the most geographically and politically peculiar issuing authorities in 20th-century European monetary history. From late 1916 through 1918, the town of Korça operated as an autonomous French-protected republic — the République albanaise de Korçë — administered by French military officers rather than any Albanian government. The Finance Director who signed these notes was a French colonial functionary, not an Albanian official.

Printed locally under wartime conditions, the notes were authenticated by handstamp rather than any more sophisticated security mechanism. The printing quality reflects what was achievable in a small provincial town under military occupation, and inconsistencies between surviving examples are common.

The autonomous zone dissolved in early 1920 when French forces withdrew following the post-war settlement.