5 lats coin coins were never minted as the Second World War broke out. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, lats continued to circulate alongside the Soviet ruble, although silver coins had largely disappeared from circulation. (Even prior to the war, Latvian people had started to hoard silver coins to prepare for the imminent crisis.) On 25 March 1941, all denominations of lats were abruptly annulled. As the general society was given no prior warning, an estimated 50 million lats were never exchanged for rubles. The people were left with suddenly-worthless coins and bills, except for sentimental value and the silver
Phoenix (currency) Phoenix (currency) The phoenix (, "foinix") was the first currency of the modern Greek state. It was introduced in 1828 by Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias and was subdivided into 100 "lepta". The name was that of the mythical phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of Greece during the still ongoing Greek War of Independence. The "phoenix" replaced the Ottoman "kuruş" (called "grosi" γρόσι, plural γρόσια "grosia" by the Greeks) at a rate of 6 phoenixes = 1 "kuruş". The creation of a national currency was one of the most pressing issues for the newborn Greek state, so that