Euro banknotes are shared across the euro area, but Latvia's national coin sides tell a compact story of statehood. The cents carry two versions of the coat of arms; the euros restore a much-loved folk maiden.
Paper money
Euro notes follow an easy architectural colour ladder - grey €5, red €10, blue €20, orange €50, green €100 and yellow €200 - wherever you spend them in Europe.
The euro banknote theme is imagined European architecture rather than real monuments: windows and gateways move from classical to modern styles, while bridges on the reverse suggest connection. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.
Three faces of Latvian change
The portrait travelled from lats to euros
The maiden was engraved for Latvia's silver five-lats coin in 1929. Reusing her on both euro values made the currency change feel like a return as well as a departure.
Read the EUR 2 edge
The EUR 2 coin adds a message that the EUR 1 does not: DIEVS * SVĒTĪ * LATVIJU. It means GOD BLESS LATVIA and is also the opening line of the national anthem.
The coats of arms divide the cents
The copper-coloured 1, 2 and 5 cent coins use Latvia's small coat of arms. The yellow 10, 20 and 50 cent values use the large version, giving the middle coins a useful visual family.
Old lats still have a door home
Latvijas Banka continues to exchange lats banknotes and coins at the fixed conversion rate of 0.702804 lats to one euro. Identification is required at the cashier's office.
Shared notes, Latvian coins
A Latvian EUR 20 banknote is the same note used throughout the euro area. Use our original illustrations to learn colour and denomination, then check real notes by feel, watermark, security thread and hologram.