5 lats coin
The 5 lats coin was a Latvian lat coin minted in 1929, 1931 and 1932. It became a popular symbol of independence during the Soviet occupation of Latvia. It was reproduced in several modern commemorative coins of Latvia and is used on the national sides of the Latvian 1 and 2 euro coins. The reverse design was featured on the Ls 500 banknote and in watermarks of all lats banknotes.
History
In February 1929, the Latvian Ministry of Finance decided to issue a ℒ︁? 5 circulation coin depicting the head of a maiden, which would symbolize the Republic of Latvia and freedom. The coin was designed by Rihards Zariņš. The image of the maiden on the coin is colloquially known as Milda. The model was Zelma Brauere, a proofreader of the State Securities Printing House. She served as a model for other works of the artist, including the ℒ︁? 10 and ℒ︁? 20 banknotes and the 50s coin.In 1939, the Latvian government prepared to mint new ℒ︁? 5 coins to be issued in 1941. The Latvian maiden was to be replaced by a portrait of the authoritarian leader of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis. Although mint press forms with the design which replaced the maiden with a portrait of Ulmanis were prepared by the Royal Mint in April 1940, those coins were never minted as the Second World War broke out.
After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, lats continued to circulate alongside the Soviet ruble, although silver coins had largely disappeared from circulation. On 25 March 1941, all denominations of lats were abruptly annulled. As the general society was given no prior warning, an estimated 50 million lats were never exchanged for rubles. The people were left with suddenly-worthless coins and bills, except for sentimental value and the silver content in the coins. The Soviet authorities, however, did have ℒ︁? 5 coins worth around ℒ︁? 3.6 million after the lat was removed from circulation. In 1960, Soviet authorities reportedly sold silver lats coins to foreign numismatists for 28 DEM around the same time the Soviet Bank started purchasing gold and silver coins of historical currencies. The ℒ︁? 5 coin could be sold for 60 kopeks.