1 Lats Richard Wagner

Wagner's connection to Latvia is largely forgotten outside the Baltic states. He served as conductor of the Riga opera house from 1837 to 1839, a posting he took out of financial desperation. The debts he accumulated there eventually forced a harrowing sea voyage to London — storms so violent they reportedly inspired the tempest in Der fliegende Holländer. Latvia issued this coin on the bicentennial of his birth, a year shared with Verdi, which prompted commemorative programs across Europe.