Albania, Italian Occupation. An Order Of Skanderbeg, V Class, Knight, C.1941

Urdhëri i Skënderbeut. Instituted in 1925. Type II (1940-1944) (AKA Order of Scanderbeg). In bronze gilt with red, blue and green enamels, type II (1940-1944) with fasces and "FERT", measuring 35.5 mm (w) x 43 mm (h), intact enamels, scattered gilt wear on the obverse, gilt flaking on the cartouche on the reverse, original ribbon, better than very fine.

Footnote: The Order of Skanderbeg was founded in 1925 by Ahmed ben Zogu, the then President of Albania, as an order of merit of the Albanian Republic. It was was revised in 1940 under Italian rule and replaced by the Communist government in 1945 with a new award of the same name. Skanderbeg is the national hero of the Albanian people. The Albanian royal family currently maintains the Order of Skanderbeg as a dynastic order, which has only been awarded to a select number of people since the fall of the monarchy in 1939. This order should not be mistaken for the award of the same name which is currently given by the head of the Republic of Albania.