Latvia's Provisional Government issued this fractional note — along with the rest of the 1920 small-denomination series — to address a severe coin shortage during the early consolidation of the newly independent state. The printing date of 30 April 1945 in the catalog data is almost certainly a registry or documentation date, not a press date; the notes themselves were prepared and circulated well before Latvia lost independence in 1940.
At 55 × 35 mm, this is among the smallest pieces in the entire Latvian paper money series — closer to a postage stamp than a circulating banknote, which made losses and wear inevitable.
Latvia's Provisional Government issued this fractional note — along with the rest of the 1920 small-denomination series — to address a severe coin shortage during the early consolidation of the newly independent state. The printing date of 30 April 1945 in the catalog data is almost certainly a registry or documentation date, not a press date; the notes themselves were prepared and circulated well before Latvia lost independence in 1940.
At 55 × 35 mm, this is among the smallest pieces in the entire Latvian paper money series — closer to a postage stamp than a circulating banknote, which made losses and wear inevitable.