Latvia Currency Banknotes Image Gallery

Latvia banknotes 500 LATU banknote of 1929, Bank of Latvia.

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Latvian Lats banknote with the highest face value 500 Latu

Latvia 500 Latu banknote

Currency of Latvia 500 Latu - Latvian Lats banknote of 1929, issued by the Bank of Latvia.
Latvian banknotes, Latvian bank notes, Latvian paper money, Latvia banknotes, Latvia bank notes, Latvia paper money

Obverse: Portrait of a Latvian lady wearing a folk costume, with a brooch on her left shoulder. The lady pictured on the banknote is Milda, the personification of Latvia. Milda - goddess of love and freedom (Baltic mythology). Across the top of the banknote, there is the tree inscription LATVIJAS BANKAS naudas zime (Money note of the Bank of Latvia) and PIECI SIMTI LATU (Five hundred Lats).
Reverse: Rural scene - Cows and sheaves.
Printed by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, New Malden in Surrey, England.

20 Latu banknote - 1925 issue

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Latvia 20 Latvian Lats banknote

Latvijas Banka 20 Latu

Latvia 20 Latvian Lats Latu banknote of 1925, issued by the Bank of Latvia.

Obverse: Portrait of Jānis Čakste,1st President of Independent Latvia. Across the top of the banknote, there is the two inscription LATVIJAS BANKAS NAUDAS ZIME (Money note of the Bank of Latvia). The banknote face value is printed in words ("DIVDESMIT LATU" - Twenty Lats) and there is the numerical indication of the denomination in the four corners of the banknote.
Reverse: The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia.
Printed by Waterlow and Sons Limited, London England.

Latvian paper money - 10 Latu - 1933 issue

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10 Latvian Lati

10 Latvian lats Latu

Currency of Latvia 10 Latu - Latvian Lats banknote of 1933, issued by the Latvian Government State Treasury.

Obverse: Seated Latvian lady wearing a national costume with a sheaf of wheat. The lady pictured on the banknote is Milda, the personification of Latvia. Milda - goddess of love and freedom (Baltic mythology). The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia and 10 Ls.
Reverse: At the right side of the banknote, there is the inscription LATVIJAS VALSTS KASES ZĪME (Latvian Government State Treasury Notes) and DESMIT LATU (Ten Lats) and the numerical indication of the denomination at the left side.
Printed by Valsts Papiru Spiestuve, Riga Latvia.

On the 15 June 1940 the rate of exchange of the Latvian Lats was as follows:

1 British Pound £ = 29.35 Ls
1 US Dollar = 5.40 Ls
100 Swiss Francs = 121.25 Ls
100 SEK Swedish Krona = 128.50 Ls
100 German Reichsmark = 205.00 Ls

10 Latu - Latvian Government State Treasury Note - 1925 issue

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10 Latu
Front - Oak tree and cornfield on back

1 Lats = 100 Santimu, 1923 - 1940

5 Lati - Latvian Government Exchange note - 1940 issue

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5 Latvian lati

5 Latvian Lats

Latvia 5 Latvian Lats Lati banknote of 1940.

Obverse: Bridge accross the River Guaja. Across the top of the banknote, there is the two inscription LATVIJAS VALSTS KASES MAINAS ZĪME (Latvian Government Exchange Notes). The banknote face value is printed in words ("PIECI LATI" - Five Lats) and there is the numerical indication of the denomination of the banknote.
Reverse: The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia.
Printed by Valsts Papiru Spiestuve un Naudas, Riga Latvia.

The Soviet Army occupied Riga on June 17, 1940, and thus took control of the entire Republic of Latvia. Immediately all bank and saving account deposits were frozen, and between 21 and 30 June every depositor was allowed to withdraw from his account not more than 50 Lats. Sometime later depositors were allowed to withdraw 100 Lats per month, but beginning the November 1940, instead of the100 Lats - 100 soviet Rubles were paid out.

Already at the beginning of the Soviet occupation rumors were spreading that the Latvian Lat might abolished, and people started to hoard silver coins. Shopkeepers not rarely refused to change paper money, allegedly due to lack of change. At that time some 32 million Lats containing 134 tons of pure silver was withdrawn from circulation by the people and was hidden. From November 25, 1940, the Soviet Ruble was introduced as a legal tender. The exchange rate was 1 Lat = 1 Soviet Ruble, both being legal means of payments. On August 2, 1940, an order was issued that forbade all trading of stocks and bonds. All Government bonds were to be surrendered to the Bank of Latvia without reimbursement (some 900 million Lats). In July 1940 all jewelry stores were ordered to render their stock of valuables to the Bank of Latvia, where they were confiscated.

On 25 March 1941 a secret order was issued to all financial institutions that out of private deposits no more than 1000 Rubles may be paid out to the owner, whereby the entire amount above was confiscated by the state. Also on 25 March 1941 small, inconspicuous notices appeared in public newspapers that by the order of the Latvian Socialist Republic, Council of the People Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party - the monetary system of Lat/ Santim was abolished as of the same date, and shall not be accepted any longer for payment. In the official international bank bulletin published in Vienna, a note appeared to the effect that by order of the National Bank of the USSR, it would exchange all banknotes and coins of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania until 25 March 1941. After 25 March 1941 these banknotes became worthless. Just before that the purchasing power of the Soviet Ruble approximately equaled that of 10 Latvian Santimi in 1939.

100 Rubli - Latvia old banknote - 1919 issue

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Latvian rubli

100 рублей Обязательство Государственнаго Казначейства Латвии

First currency of Latvia 100 Latvian rublis banknote of 1919, issued by the Latvian Government State Treasury.

Obverse: The first Coat of Arms of the State of Latvia. (adopted 2 December 1918 ) was designed by professor Burkards Dzenis. Latwijas Walsts Kaşes Sihme - Simts Rubli (Latvian Government Currency Note - One Hundred Rubli)
Reverse: Oak tree with Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia. Across the banknote, there are the inscriptions: Обязательство Государственнаго Казначейства Латвии 100 Сто Рублей - Lettlands Staats Kassenschein 100 Hundert Rubel.

The Latvian national coat of arms was formed after the proclamation of an independent Latvian Republic. The sun in the the coat of arms symbolises Latvian national statehood. A stylised depiction of the sun was used as a symbol of distinction and national identity by Latvian riflemen – latviesu strelnieki – recruited into the Russian imperial army during WWI. During WWI the sun figure fashioned with 17 rays that symbolised the 17 inhabited Latvian districts. The three stars embody the idea of the inclusion of historical districts (united Kurzeme – Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale) into a united Latvia.

1 Rublis = 100 kapeikas, 1919 - 1922

25 Rubli - 1919 issue - Paper Money from Latvia

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Latvia 10 Rublis banknote of 1919

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Latvia 10 Rubli

Latvia 10 Rubli banknote of 1919, issued by the Bank of Latvia.

Obverse: Sailing ship at centre. Flaming ball with L and 3 stars above legend. Intricate ornamental frame. Design printed in red-brown and green.
Reverse: Flaming ball with L and 3 stars at centre. Denomination numeral at all corners and at left and right of flaming ball. Design printed in red-brown and green.

Latvian 10 Latu on 500 Rublis banknote of 1920.

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Red overprint 10 Latu on 500 Rublis 1920 - Very rare banknote

Bank of Latvia - 10 Latvian Lats banknote of 1922 - old 500-ruble note overprinted with the new denomination of 10 Latu.

13 March 1920 the Latvian Rublis was officially declared to be henceforth the only legal currency in Latvia. However, the value of the Latvian Rublis versus other currencies was not yet fixed. Thus, for example, the value of the Latvian Rublis against British Pounds £ was:

January 1920 : 1 £ British Pound = 233 Latvian Rublis
September 1920 : 1 £ British Pound = 530 Latvian Rublis
January 1921 : 1 £ British Pound = 792 Latvian Rublis
September 1921 : 1 £ British Pound = 1390 Latvian Rublis

In order to stabilize the situation, on July 14 1921 the Constitutional Assembly introduced a new fictitious currency designated the "Gold Frank" = 0.2903226 grams of pure gold, in which the international trade was to be negotiated by applying the current Latvian Rublis - "Gold Frank" equivalent rate. This rate rose rapidly, as for example:

May 27 1921 : 1 Gold Frank = 87.5 Latvian Rublis
June 1 1921 : 1 Gold Frank = 94.- Latvian Rublis
July 1 1921 : 1 Gold Frank = 97.- Latvian Rublis

Taxes were to be paid at the rate of 1 Gold Frank = 100 Latvian Rubli.

There were long discussions on how to designate the new Latvian monetary unit which would replace the Rublis, which was historically a Russian unit. The first version accepted was the "Latvian Frank" which became official to the extent that revenue stamps were issued in this denomination: 1 Frank - green, and 3 Franks - brown/ violet. They were put into circulation and occasionally also used as postage stamps.

The final stabilization occurred when in 1921/22 1 Gold Frank became equal to 50 Rubli. On August 3, 1922, the fictitious currency "Frank" was designated to become from then on the real Latvian currency named "Lats = 100 Santimi". The rate of exchange thus became: 50 Latvian Rubli = 1 Lats and it was decided that a total of approximately 48 million Lats would be emitted to replace about 2,400 million Latvian Rubli.

As the Lat - banknotes could not be printed to meet the requirements, the 500 Rubli note was overprinted "10 Latu". It is only in Latvian, and so are all future banknotes. People called this note "pike", which image is somewhat difficult to recognize on the reverse above the anchor.

By order of the Latvian Government, effective from November 1, 1922, the Bank of Latvia carried out all financial operations in Lat/ Santim currency only

The Republic of Latvia emitted during its independent existence between 1923 and 1940 banknotes of 21 different designs, at the denominations of: 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 500 Lats.

Latvian money currency 100 Lats Latu banknote of 1923

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100 Latvian Lats note

Latvian Lati LVL

Latvia - 100 Latvian Lats Latu banknote of 1923, issued by the Bank of Latvia.

Obverse: Two seated Allegorical women in national costume "Industry" and "Agriculture". The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia.
Reverse: Inscriptions LATVIJAS BANKAS naudas zime (Money note of the Bank of Latvia) and SIMT LATU (one hundred Lats).

Currency of Latvia 50 Latvian Lats banknote of 1924

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Latvia 50 Latvian Lats

Rive Dvina (Daugava)with view of Riga - Mega Rare banknote

Fifty Lats - Piecdesmit Latu

Currency of Latvia 50 Latu banknote of 1924, issued by the Bank of Latvia.

Obverse: Panoramic view of Riga's old town and the Daugava river. Across the top of the banknote, there is the two inscription LATVIJAS BANKAS NAUDAS ZIME (Money note of the Bank of Latvia). Across the bottom of the banknote, there are the inscriptions PIECDESMIT LATU - Fifty Lats. The numerical value of the banknote at left.
Reverse: The denomination of the note fifty lats is printed with the numerical value 50 and Ls - currency symbol (currency sign) of Latvian lats. The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia on the right side of the banknote.
Printed by Waterlow and Sons Limited, London England.

Latvian currency Lats 20 Latu banknote of 1924 - Mega rare

2010-01-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

20 Latvian Lats

Latvia 20 Latu

Currency of Latvia 20 Latu banknote of 1924, issued by the Bank of Latvia.

Obverse: Farmer sowing. Across the top of the banknote, there is the two inscription LATVIJAS BANKAS NAUDAS ZIME (Money note of the Bank of Latvia).
Reverse: The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia. Across the top of the banknote, there are the inscriptions DIVDESMIT LATU - Twenty Lats.
Printed by Waterlow and Sons Limited, London England.

The Great Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia.

The shield on the herald is divided into segments – half of a golden rising sun against a blue background is seen in one section, a red lion against a silver background to represent Kurzeme and Zemgale in the second, and a silver griffon with a blue tongue and a silver sword clutched in its right paw to represent Vidzeme and Latgale. Above the shield are three golden stars. The shield is held by a red lion with a golden tongue on the right and a silver griffon with a golden tongue on the left. They are supported by green oak branches with a red-white-red ribbon that has the proportions of the Latvian state flag.

Latvian money 20 Latvian Lats note of 1924.

2010-01-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Latvian 20 Latu banknote

Latvian banknote 20 Latu 1924 spesimen - Mega rare