Last year, the Bank of Latvia exchanged lats banknotes worth 744.6 thousand lats or 1.059 million euros, the Bank of Latvia reports.
Including in 2021 lats banknotes worth 648 thousand lats (922 thousand euros) and lats coins worth 96.6 thousand lats (137.4 thousand euros) were exchanged.
At the end of 2021, lats coins and banknotes worth 84 million lats or 119.9 million euros had not yet been exchanged, while at the end of 2020 lats coins and banknotes worth 85 million lats or 120.9 million euros had not been exchanged.
At the end of last year, 340.2 million lats coins had not yet been exchanged, which, according to the Bank of Latvia, is 780 tons.
Of the coins, the most unchanged were small denomination coins, namely one and two santims – 239 million, while the number of unchanged one lats coins, including special single lats, was 24 million.
At the end of last year, the most unchanged banknotes were in five and 20 lats banknotes – 1.7 million and 762 thousand, respectively.
According to the Bank of Latvia, by the end of 2021, 40% of lats coins worth 29 million lats (41.3 million euros) and 96% of lats banknotes worth 941 million lats (1.339 billion euros) had been withdrawn from circulation. A total of 149 million coins and 47 million banknotes have been withdrawn from circulation.
It has already been reported that at the end of 2013 and during 2014, lats banknotes and coins worth 954 million lats (1.357 billion euros) were exchanged, in 2015 – five million lats (7.1 million euros), in 2016 – four million lats (7.1 million euros). million lats (5.7 million euros), in 2017 – approximately two million lats (2.8 million euros), in 2018 – 1.7 million lats (2.4 million euros), in 2019 – 1.6 million lats (2.28 million euros), but in 2020 – 0.9 million lats (1.28 million euros).
The Bank of Latvia will change lats banknotes against the euro at the official exchange rate and free of charge forever. Damaged lats banknotes and coins will also be exchanged for the euro, as long as they meet the conditions for exchange, for example, more than half of the banknote will remain, but the coins will not be intentionally damaged, including in the making of jewelry.
On January 1, 2014, Latvia joined the euro area.
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