Now, it has come to my attention that the tradition that I earlier described for the Albanian Orthodox of putting the coin into the cooked bread or pie is really the tradition of the "Vasilopita" described here: www.antiochia.org/node/18684 [antiochia.org]

While I wrote of its practice at "Christmas/New Years," in our family it was only practiced on St. Basil's Day which happens to be New Years on the current calendar. It has always been a day of veneration since family members have the name Basil/Vasil.

Speculation, but Pilgrim's observed Arberesh (Italo-Greco-Albanian) tradition may also be linked with the Vasilopita.