Since 1956, the Liepāja Museum has kept the silver five lats coin that has won the love of the people. These coins with the image of the national maiden, popularly known as Milda, have, over time, become a symbol of Latvia's statehood.

In the 1930s, the coin was used to make brooches, which daughters proudly wore on their national costumes alongside the brooches they inherited from their grandmothers. During the Soviet years, the silver five lats coin served as a reminder that there had once been an independent, democratic Latvia. The Bank of Latvia issued silver coins thrice – in 1929, 1931 and 1932.

The coin was designed by graphic artist Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939). He designed the obverse of the five lats silver coin, which bears the coat of arms of the Latvian state, which he drew in 1921 when he was the State Paper Printing Press manager. The coat of arms was based on a design by the graphic artist Vilhelms Krūmiņš (1891–1959). For the reverse of the coin, R. Zariņš chose the image of the Latvian national maiden as a symbol of the virtue of national work and ethical clarity.

Although the national maiden is colloquially known as Milda, R. Zariņš used his colleague Zelma Bauere (1900–1977), a proofreader at the State Paper Printing House, as a model. Many people chose not to spend the silver coin and to keep it for future generations. But some families could not afford such luxuries – they had to take care of the bills and food.

According to the Central Statistical Office, five lats allowed a family to enjoy a rich meal. In 1931, for example, dark bread cost 28 santims per kilo, and white bread 64 santims. Fresh, unskimmed milk could be bought for 17 santi per liter. Butter was a more expensive pleasure – you had to pay at least two lats per kilo to buy it. For vegetable soup, you could buy a kilo of beef on the bone for 91 centimes, a kilo of potatoes for 7 centimes, a kilo of carrots for 23 centimes, a kilo of cabbage heads for 27 centimes and a kilo of turnips for 14 centimes.

The five lats could also be spent on improving one's beauty: a haircut cost only 40 centimes, while gentlemen could ask for a beard shave for an extra 30 centimes. You had to part with only 30 centimes to visit the cheapest bathhouse. A clean-shaven and freshly coiffed Latvian of 1931 could decide to spend the rest of his money on culture – for 40 centimes, he could attend a cinema show alone, and for 65 centimes, he could go to a theatre performance alone.

Photo: from the Liepāja Museum archive – Silver five-lat coin