Latvia restored the lats as its national currency in 1993, replacing the Latvian ruble that had served as a transitional currency after independence from the Soviet Union. These 1992-dated coins were struck in anticipation of that reintroduction, effectively pre-minted before the denomination was legally in circulation. The design revived the interwar lats coinage of the first independence period, a deliberate link to the republic that had existed before Soviet annexation in 1940.
Latvia restored the lats as its national currency in 1993, replacing the Latvian ruble that had served as a transitional currency after independence from the Soviet Union. These 1992-dated coins were struck in anticipation of that reintroduction, effectively pre-minted before the denomination was legally in circulation. The design revived the interwar lats coinage of the first independence period, a deliberate link to the republic that had existed before Soviet annexation in 1940.