1 Lats Latvia-European Union

Latvia's 2004 EU accession — formalized on May 1st of that year — prompted a series of commemorative issues, this being among the first. The timing carried particular political weight: Latvia had spent fifty years under Soviet occupation before regaining independence in 1991, making membership in the European Union something other than a routine enlargement formality for most Latvians.

KM#64 was struck in a limited commemorative run by the Bank of Latvia, which had been re-established in 1990 even before formal independence was declared.