5 lats coin and freedom. The coin was designed by Rihards Zariņš. The image of the maiden on the coin is colloquially known as Milda (a Latvian female name). The model was Zelma Brauere (1900-1977), a proofreader of the State Securities Printing House. She served as a model for other works of the artist, including the 10 lats and 20 lats banknotes and the 50 santīmi coin. In 1939, the Latvian government prepared to mint new 5 lats coins to be issued in 1941. The Latvian maiden was to be replaced by a portrait of the authoritarian leader of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis. Those
World currency to the United States dollar. However, as the United States has the world's largest economy, most international transactions continue to be conducted with the United States dollar, and it has remained the "de facto" world currency. According to Robert Gilpin in "Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order" (2001): "Somewhere between 40 and 60 percent of international financial transactions are denominated in dollars. For decades the dollar has also been the world's principal reserve currency; in 1996, the dollar accounted for approximately two-thirds of the world's foreign exchange reserves", as compared to about one-quarter held in euros (see Reserve