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
5 lats coin content in the coins. The Soviet authorities, however, did have 5 lats coins worth around 3.6 million after the lat was removed from circulation. In 1960, Soviet authorities reportedly sold silver lats coins to foreign numismatists for 28 DEM Around the same time the Soviet Bank started purchasing gold and silver coins of historical currencies. The 5 lats coin could be sold for 60 kopeks. The image of the maiden featured on the reverse of the coin was used in the design of the modern 500 lats banknote. It is also used as a watermark for all lats banknotes. The