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
Carthaginian currency Carthaginian currency Carthaginian or Punic currency refers to the coins of ancient Carthage, a Phoenician city-state located near present-day Tunis, Tunisia. The base currency was the shekel, although its Punic pronunciation was probably . The Phoenicians, despite their extensive trading empires, began minting coins relatively late. Siculo-Carthaginian currency began to be issued in the mid-4th century and probably preceded Phoenicia's own Tyrian shekels, which developed . Carthage was also the first known state to utilize lightweight, flexible leather promissory notes. Carthage issued ½-shekel, shekel (7.20 g), 1⅔-shekel, double shekel, and triple shekel coins. 5-shekel pieces were issued in Sicily. It