Lithuania's bimetallic circulation coinage was introduced in the late 1990s as the country accelerated its integration into European institutions, though the litas itself had only been reintroduced in 1993 after the Soviet-era ruble was abandoned. The 5 litai sat at the top of the circulating coin denominations, making it the workhorse of larger everyday transactions throughout the litas's final decade. When Lithuania adopted the euro on 1 January 2015 — the last Baltic state to do so — the entire litas coinage series was withdrawn, ending a currency that had existed in two distinct periods separated by fifty years of Soviet occupation.
Lithuania's bimetallic circulation coinage was introduced in the late 1990s as the country accelerated its integration into European institutions, though the litas itself had only been reintroduced in 1993 after the Soviet-era ruble was abandoned. The 5 litai sat at the top of the circulating coin denominations, making it the workhorse of larger everyday transactions throughout the litas's final decade. When Lithuania adopted the euro on 1 January 2015 — the last Baltic state to do so — the entire litas coinage series was withdrawn, ending a currency that had existed in two distinct periods separated by fifty years of Soviet occupation.