Latvian rublis

The Latvian rublis (Latvian: Latvijas rublis) was the currency of Latvia from 1919 to 1922 and again from 1992 to 1993.

Latvian rublis
Latvijas rublis (Latvian)
Denominations
Symbol	Lvr (before numerals)
Banknotes	1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 rublis
Coins	none
Demographics
User(s)	Latvia
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Latvia
Website	www.bank.lv
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

First rublis

After the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia in 1918, a great variety of different currencies were in circulation: ostrubles, ostmarks, German Papiermark, the so-called Tsar rubles, kopecks, the so-called Duma Money and kerenkas, as well as promissory notes issued by several town municipalities.

On 4 February 1919, the Latvian Provisional Government authorized the Minister of Finance to issue the first currency notes of the Republic of Latvia: Treasury notes.[1] They were denominated in rublis (plural: rubļi or rubłı) and kapeika (plural nominative: kapeikas, plural genitive: kapeiku), with 1 rublis = 100 kapeiku. On 27 March 1919 the exchange rates for the Latvian rublis were fixed at 1 ostmark, 2 German papiermark and 1.5 Russian rubles.[1] Between April 1919 and September 1922, currency notes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 50 kapeiku and 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 rubłı. No coins were issued.

The first state currency notes were printed in 1919 by Andrievs Niedra's government, which was considered pro-German and illegal, and was overthrown in the same year. The legal government of Kārlis Ulmanis printed quite similar notes but with different signatures on them. This government recognized the previously printed banknotes as legal tender. The designer of these banknotes was Jūlijs Madernieks.

On 3 August 1922, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the "Regulations on Money" which introduced the lats as Latvia's national currency. The lats was equal to 50 rubļi. The rublis remained in circulation alongside the lats for a time.

Second rublis

Latvia's regained independence was recognized by the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. In the first four months of 1992, the country was adversely affected by inflation of the Soviet ruble. In addition, outgoing cash payments exceeded incoming amounts by 122 million rubles (5.9%) in February, and by 686 million rubles (29.2%) in April, thus causing a serious shortage of cash.

Since the currency was issued by the Soviet Union, and by Russia after 20 December 1991, the Bank of Latvia was unable to increase the amount of cash circulating in the country; it was completely dependent on the availability of cash and credit from the Central Bank of Russia, the successor of the State Bank of the Soviet Union. It was evident that a crisis could develop by the end of May, when the Bank of Latvia would not be able to finance even the most necessary payments.

To resolve the problem, on 4 May 1992, the Monetary Reform Commission of the Republic of Latvia passed a resolution "On Introduction of the Latvian rublis". From 7 May 1992, a temporary currency, the Latvian rublis (LVR), was put into circulation as a legal tender parallel to the existing ruble notes. It was declared equal in value to the Soviet ruble.[2] The Latvian rublis notes (widely known as repšiki, after the then governor of the Central Bank, Einars Repše) were issued in denominations of 1 rublis, 2 and 5 rubļi, 10, 20, 50, 200 and 500 rubļu.

Lats

This second Latvian rublis was withdrawn from circulation on 18 October 1993,[3] but could be exchanged for lats until 1 July 1994, when it lost validity.[4] and the historic national currency - the lats - was reintroduced in 1993, replacing the Latvian rublis at the ratio of 1 lats (LVL) = 200 Latvian rublis (LVR).[5]

Euro

The lats was replaced on 1 January 2014 by the euro, at the rate of 0.702804 lats to 1 euro.

1992 Series
Image		Value	Main Colour
Obverse	Reverse
		1 rublis	Yellow
		2 rubļi	Brown
		5 rubļi	Blue
		10 rubļu	Red
		20 rubļu	Violet
		50 rubļu	Turquoise
		200 rubļu	Green
		500 rubļu	Orange

References

1. Inta Pētersone (1999). Latvijas Brīvības cīņas 1918-1920 : Enciklopēdija (in Latvian). Riga: Preses nams. p. 213. ISBN 9984003957. OCLC 43426410.
2. "Patstāvīga naudas sistēma Latvijā sākās ar Latvijas rubli". www.bank.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2021-01-04.
3. Ēvalds Vēciņš, Dzintars Rubenis, Gunārs Rolands Grīns (2002). Nauda Latvijā XX gadsimtā : Katalogs I daļa 2. sējums (in Latvian). Riga: Zvaigzne. p. 77. ISBN 9984223450. OCLC 45699853.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. Ēvalds Vēciņš, Dzintars Rubenis, Gunārs Rolands Grīns (2002). Nauda Latvijā XX gadsimtā : Katalogs I daļa 2. sējums (in Latvian). Riga: Zvaigzne. p. 81. ISBN 9984223450. OCLC 45699853.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. "Patstāvīga naudas sistēma Latvijā sākās ar Latvijas rubli". www.bank.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2021-01-04.