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
Mark (currency) policy was not re-established, and the continuing loose money policy resulted in inflation, and in 1923, in hyperinflation. In late 1923, when the paper mark had become virtually worthless, it was replaced by a new currency, the (worth ). The new currency was issued by the newly established as credit to borrowers, but requiring collateral in the form of first-class claims to real estate. In 1924, the stopped providing unrestricted credit against worthless financial bills, and pegged its new currency, the , to the stable . The rationed its lending, so that the remained at par with the stable .