Dalmatia & Albania, 2 Soldi - Venice 1691 - 1709

Two Soldi (aka Gazetta). These were struck by Venice, an ally of the coastal area of the Adriatic Sea just east of Italy. These were stuck over a long period of time and are undated. OB: The lion of St. Mark with the legend "SAN MARC VEN" with "*II*" below. Rx: "DALMA ET ALBAN."
The author of "DALMATIA ET ALBANIA", Soterios Gardiakos, had this to say about Albania in his preface:
PREFACE
One of the most difficult aspects of writing this book on the coins of Dalmatia et Albania has been to try and locate the actual geographical location that these coins were struck for by the Goverment of Venice. This proved quite a task for the 387 year span of these coins the Venetian occupied lands on the Dalmatian and 'Albanian' (Epirote) coasts waned and waxed according to the might of the arms of the Republic.
The geographical area of Dalmatia was quite easy to locate for in Muir's New School Atlas of Universal History the Venetian holdings in Dalmatia are quite clearly shown. Searching for its Albanian holdings is another thing, for we find no Albania under Venetian rule. It then becomes apparent that to the Venetians Albania meant the Greek coast of Epirus stretching from Butrinto to Prevesa and probably including Vonitsa. Renaming Epirus to Albania is not an unusual thing for the Venetians, for they had a habit of renaming many of their occupied territories to suit their purposes, ie. Crete was called Candia.
An interesting thing about these coins is that they can be considered as coins of several countries. The Venetians can and certainly consider it as their own coinage, artificial Albania of today can, and does, Dalmatia in Yugoslavia and Epirus in Greece can, but rarely do. These coins are in many respects similar to the coins issued by Britain for its possesions in which Britain considers it as British coinage, which it is, but they are also a part of that possesions coinage, and is also considered as its own, ie. India. Simply put the coins bearing the inscription DALMATIA ET ALBANIA are coins of more than one country.
In closing it should be pointed that this book originally appeared as a series of articles in The Obol, A Journal of Hellenic, Byzantine and Balkan Numismatics, Vol. III No's 3&4, 5, 6, Vol. IV No. 1.
Soterios Gardiakos Chicago, June 1970