I. Zogu, full name I. Zogu III. Skander Beg, originally Amet Zogolli, then Amet Zogu Beg (October 8, 1895 – April 9, 1961), was King of Albania from 1928 to 1939. He was the first and only ruler of the Albanian kingdom. Zogu was first prime minister and then president of the republic before being crowned king. Due to his family background, Zogu was one of the prominent landowners of the Mat river valley. His father was Xhemal Zogolli Pasha and his mother was Sadije Toptani, who raised him as an only son. During the Balkan Wars, Zogu returned home after interrupting his studies and took a leading role in the defense against the Serbs and Montenegrins. Later, after his father's death, he became the leader of the Mat clan. During his political career, he held the post of prime minister twice (1922-1925), then became president of the republic (1925-1928). He was finally crowned king in 1928 and took the name Zogu I. During his rule, he tried to modernize the country, but in 1939, when the Italian army invaded Albania, Zogu had to go into exile. His wife was the Hungarian countess Geraldine Apponyi, and they had a son, Leka Zogu, who became the heir to the Albanian throne1. Zogu died in France in 1961 and was laid to rest in the Cimetière parisien de Thiais cemetery.

In 1925, Franga, a derivative of the franc, was introduced. Its official name is franga ari, divided into 100 qindarka. The monetary unit of the currency, lek, comes from the abbreviation of Alexander the Great's Albanian writing system. The first coins were issued in 1926 under the leadership of President Ahmed Zogu, who proclaimed himself King Zog I in 1928. Albanian gold coins were issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs. Silver coins were in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 francs. issued in Ari, and their obverse shows a helmeted female goddess, a bust of King Zog, or a standing eagle with open wings. The reverse shows the prow of an ancient ship, a royal coat of arms or a plowman. These coins depicted distinct neoclassical motifs.