Pictured Left to Right: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Santims, 1 Lat
These are some of the other coins that my fiancees father brought back from his recent travels to Europe. Latvia has a similar history to that of Lithuania. It was previously an independent republic in 1918, then occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It became an independent nation at the fall of the Soviet Union and has since been minting their own national coins.
Latvian money, as opposed to Lithuanian money, is much more expensive (has more value). 1 Latvian Lat is worth around $1.75 USD. Keeping that in mind, you would basically double the value of these coins to find out their real dollar value. That being said, these coins are relatively small and very simple, especially given the fact the these coins are worth quite a bit (in a US dollar sense). To me, they are still interesting because of their real value and for their collector value. Before these coins, I had no Latvian coins whatsoever, I have a few Latvian notes, but coins were non-existent in my collection. It's hard to find people that travel to this area and actually bring back coins, which you would be able to pickup at the local coin shop. Thus, it has been quite hard to get my hands on these coins.
In my opinion, the reverse of the 1-20 Santims coins resemble the coins of the former German (Deutsche) Mark. What I like about these coins is their user-friendliness. The coins are small but heavy, making it easy for a person to carry these coins and being able to pay for something without having so many heavy coins in your pocket (like the coins of the Australian and Canadian dollar). Maybe that is the reason for success of these coins. They are easy to differentiate, feel expensive and easy to carry around!
I have approximately 12 Lats worth of these coins, but these were the best examples that I could find. Beggars can't be choosers, but at least I can pick out the best ones from the lot. As with the Lithuanian coins, these will also be placed in non-pvc flips and the rest will be placed in the safe.
One additional note, these coins may soon become extinct as Latvia moves closer to the introduction of the Euro in the next few years. So save them if you can before the European Union dissolves the numismatic identity of the countries that it absorbs. But who knows, maybe the the Euro will be short-lived given that it's having so many fiscal problems!
I have approximately 12 Lats worth of these coins, but these were the best examples that I could find. Beggars can't be choosers, but at least I can pick out the best ones from the lot. As with the Lithuanian coins, these will also be placed in non-pvc flips and the rest will be placed in the safe.
One additional note, these coins may soon become extinct as Latvia moves closer to the introduction of the Euro in the next few years. So save them if you can before the European Union dissolves the numismatic identity of the countries that it absorbs. But who knows, maybe the the Euro will be short-lived given that it's having so many fiscal problems!
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