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Latvian lats

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Image:5lats used until WWII.png

The 5 lats coin, used before WWII, became a popular symbol of independence during the Soviet era

ISO 4217 Code LVL

User(s) Latvia

Inflation 6.7%

Source The World Factbook, 2005 est.

ERM

Since 2 May 2005

Fixed rate since 1 January 2005

Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2008 tentative

€ = Ls 0.702804

Band 15%

Subunit

1/100 santīms

Symbol Ls (before numerals)

santīms s (after numerals)

Coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 santīmu, 1, 2 lati

Banknotes 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 latu

Central bank

Bank of Latvia

Website www.bank.lv

For common abbreviations, see LAT (disambiguation)

The lats (the ISO 4217 currency code: LVL) is the official currency of Latvia. It is abbreviated as Ls. Each lats is worth 100 santīmu (singular: santīms; from French centime).

1 History
2 Coins
3 Banknotes
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The lats was first introduced in 1922, replacing the Latvian rubļis at a rate of 1 lats = 50 rubļi. In 1940, Latvia was incorporated into the USSR and the lats was replaced by the Soviet ruble at par.

The lats was reintroducted in 1993 after Latvia regained its independence, replacing the Latvian rubļis at a rate of 1 lat = 200 rubļi.

The euro (eiro in Latvian) is expected to replace the lats in 2008. The currency entered the Exchange Rate Mechanism II on May 2, 2005, and must be maintained in a 15% band around the pivot value of 0.702804 LVL per Euro. In practice, the lats has been fixed at that rate since 1 January 2005. Before that, it was pegged to the SDR currency basket.

[edit] Coins

Coins are issued in denominations of 1 santīms, 2 santīmi, 5 santīmi, 10 santīmu, 20 santīmu, and 50 santīmu, as well as 1 lats and 2 lati. Also, there are Commemorative Coins in denominations of 2, 10, 20, 100 latu made from gold and silver.

[edit] Banknotes

5 lati: oak-tree
10 latu: River Daugava and oak-leaf
20 latu: Traditional house
50 latu: sailing-ship and oak-leaf
100 latu: Krišjānis Barons and oak-leaf
500 latu: Latvian folk-maid and oak-leaf

Current LVL exchange rates

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Use XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

other updated currency rates: [1]

[edit] See also

Latvian euro coins

[edit] External links

Latvian Money

Pre-euro and other EU currencies

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Eurozone	Austrian Schilling \| Belgian franc \| Dutch gulden \| Finnish mark \| French franc \| German Mark \| Greek drachma \| Irish pound \| Italian lira \| Luxembourgish franc \| Monegasque franc \| Portuguese escudo \| San Marinese lira \| Spanish peseta \| Vatican lira
ERM II	Cypriot pound \| Danish krone \| Estonian kroon \| Latvian lats \| Lithuanian litas \| Maltese lira \| Slovak koruna \| Slovenian tolar
Other EU	British pound \| Bulgarian lev \| Czech koruna \| Gibraltar pound \| Hungarian forint \| Polish złoty \| Romanian leu \| Swedish krona
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Currencies of Europe
Eurozone	Euro
Northern	Danish krone \| Faroese króna \| Icelandic króna \| Norwegian krone \| Swedish krona
Baltic	Estonian kroon \| Latvian lats \| Lithuanian litas
Western	British pound \| Guernsey pound \| Jersey pound \| Manx pound
Central	Czech koruna \| Hungarian forint \| Polish złoty \| Slovak koruna \| Slovenian tolar \| Swiss franc
Eastern	Belarusian ruble \| Kazakhstani tenge \| Russian ruble \| Ukrainian hryvnia
Southeastern	Albanian lek \| Bulgarian lev \| Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark \| Croatian kuna \| Macedonian denar \| Moldovan leu \| Romanian leu \| Serbian dinar
Mediterranean	Cypriot pound \| Gibraltar pound \| Maltese lira \| Turkish new lira
Transcaucasia	Armenian dram \| Azerbaijani manat \| Georgian lari
Unrecognized Countries	Transnistrian ruble
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