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
State continuity of the Baltic states In the Russian Federation rulings of the court caused negative reaction among politicians and were characterized as "politicized." In the Baltic states the court rulings were accepted within the general lines of the Western non-recognition policy (see Stimson Doctrine). Notably, the Estonian Internal Security Service emphasized the importance of the decisions in its 2006 yearbook. William Hough, New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law, Volume 6, Number 2, 1986, "The Annexation of the Baltic States and its Effect in the Development of Law Prohibiting Forcible Seizure of Territory" State continuity of the Baltic states State continuity of