Latvia 1 Lats

Description

The lats was the official currency of Latvia from 1922 to 1940 and from 1993 to 2014. The official currency symbol: Ls.

The first lats was introduced in 1922, replacing the Latvian rublis. The Latvian Bank introduced coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 santīmu, 1, 2 and 5 lati. Then Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. The Soviet ruble was introduced alongside the lats at par after the dismantling of the Bank of Latvia and its replacement with the Latvia Republican Office of the Gosbank, even though the real monetary value of the rouble was about three times lower. Thus both wages and prices were gradually raised to devalue the lats from June to November 1940. Buyer limitations for certain items were set to mitigate the effect of the exodus of goods sent to the USSR by Soviet occupying personnel who took advantage of the improved currency rate.

Despite the Soviet government’s initial commitment not to abolish the lats, it was taken out of circulation without warning in 1941, with all deposits bigger than 1000 lats being nationalized at the same time. At the outset of the occupation, a portion of Latvia’s gold, silver, and cash reserves were moved to Moscow.

In 1993, the lats was reintroduced and replacing the Latvian rublis. The lats coins were reintroduced in the same denominations, prior to the invasion of the soviet union, to later be replaced by the euro, which began its introduction on January 1, 2014.

The 1 Latvian lats coin front design features the lesser version of the National Coat of Arms, the country’s name, and the issue date.

The reverse of the coin presents a salmon jumping out of the water, which is a symbol of Latvia’s water resources, followed by the denomination at the bottom. This coin is part of the 1992 – 2008 series; its rim is plain with lettering: LATVIJAS BANKA. Its color is silver.