New Albanian 10,000 Lekë Banknote with KINEGRAM® Registered Stripe
Fuerth/Germany, 21/06/2021: In June 2021, the Bank of Albania will release the highest denomination of the Lekë issued so far into general circulation – the 10,000 Lekë, secured with a KINEGRAM® registered stripe from KURZ.
The previous series of banknotes (except the 2,000 Lekë), was put into circulation in 1996. Since that time, protective technologies have been constantly improved, and the new banknotes include up-to-date security features, which offer strong protection against counterfeiting and maintain public confidence and trust in the currency. The introduction of the new series of banknotes, containing 6 denominations (200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 Lekë), started in 2019, when the new 5,000 Lekë and 200 Lekë were issued.
Like the 5,000 Lekë, the 10,000 Lekë has a sophisticated stripe displaying multiple optical effects created with the unique non-holographic KINEGRAM® technology. The stripe is applied in register to the print and partially metallized in multiple patch-like shapes, corresponding to ‘state-of-the-art’ in the banknote industry.
At the top of the diffractive KINEGRAM® stripe, the Bank of Albania’s main building is depicted and displays both an achromatic and a colorful diffractive watermark effect, i.e., the contrast of the colors and grayscale tones reverses when the banknote is rotated. The most striking effect of the diffractive stripe is a true color portrait of the well-known Albanian poet ‘Asdreni’, surrounded by an outline displaying a strong pumping movement. The portrait corresponds with the printed portrait of this banknote denomination.
Additionally, fine line movements starting on the lower half of the foil feature are combined with a clearly visible image flip between the words ‘DHJETË MIJË’ and the denomination number ’10000’, for instinctive recognition and authentication. At the bottom of the stripe and referring to Asdreni’s work are a stunningly three-dimensional feather and an open book, surrounded by a brightly shining colorful outline effect, which appears in rainbow colors when tilting the banknote. While banknote counterfeiting has been low during recent years, the Bank of Albania always strives to keep ahead of the criminals and be at the cutting edge of banknote security features, making them easier to be verified and harder to counterfeit.
Additional information about the new series is available on the Bank‘s website at the following links:
New Series (bankofalbania.org)
Bank of Albania launches the two next denominations of the New Albanian Banknote Series: 1000 lek and 10000 lek (bankofalbania.org)