What is lat? History, description

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What is lat? History, description
What is lat? History, description

Video: What is lat? History, description

Video: What is lat? History, description
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Today, few people remember what lat is. However, quite recently it was the state currency of the Republic of Latvia.

A Brief History

The first Latvian lat was put into circulation in 1922, shortly after the country gained independence from the Russian Empire. In 1941, Latvia was annexed to the USSR, so its national currency was withdrawn from circulation.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, these banknotes were reintroduced in Latvia. The meaning of the word "lat" is quite simple. The name of the currency comes from the name of the country itself and the people. This is an abbreviated interpretation of the name of the state.

what is lat
what is lat

In 2013, Latvia replaced the lats with the euro as it became a full member of the European Union.

Description

What is lat? To answer this question, it is not enough to say that this is the former national currency of Latvia. We need to take a closer look at the history of this currency.

Until 2013, paper banknotes with a face value of five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred and five hundred lats, as well as metal coins with a face value of one to fifty centimes, were in circulation in the territory of the Republic of Latvia. There were also banknotes in denominations of 1 and 2 Latvian lats.

The first coins were minted inSwitzerland. Then they were made in England. Five, ten and twenty centimes were minted from copper, nickel and zinc. Fifty santims, one and two lats were made from cupronickel. There was also a bimetallic version of the two-lat coin, the center of which was made of an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, and the ring around it was made of cupronickel.

the meaning of the word lat
the meaning of the word lat

The paper notes were 130 mm long and 65 mm wide. On the banknote of 5 lats an oak tree was depicted, on ten - the river Daugava. On the 20-lat note there is the building of the ethnographic museum, located on the shore of Lake Jugla. The fifty lat banknote was decorated with the image of a sailboat. The 100 lats banknote featured a portrait of the writer and public figure Krisjanis Baron. The banknote of five hundred lats was decorated with the image of a girl in a national headdress.

Conclusion

The article answered the question "What is lat?". Today, not everyone knows the answer to it. Even when the currency was still in use, few people outside the small B altic state had heard of it.

Latvian lat was a symbol of the sovereignty of the state and people. Now the country's government is trying in every possible way to emphasize that Latvia is part of Europe, and therefore the national currency was abolished in favor of the euro. At the same time, it was also a pragmatic decision that contributed to the economic development of the state.

As already mentioned, today few Europeans will remember what lat is. And after a few generations, perhaps the Latvians themselveswill treat this out-of-circulation currency as something far away, long gone.

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