Sri Lankan rupee
| rupee | |
|---|---|
| Country: |
 Sri Lanka
|
| Subdivision: | 100 cents |
| ISO 4217 code : | LKR |
| Abbreviation: | Backs. & රු, ரூ, SLRe. |
|
Exchange rate : (27 Aug 2020) |
1 EUR = 219.99 LKR 1 CHF = 204.64 LKR |
The Sri Lankan rupee ( Sinhala : රුපියල, Tamil : ரூபாய்) ( currency symbol : ₨ ; ISO 4217 : LKR ) is the current currency in Sri Lanka . One rupee is divided into 100 (Sri Lanka-) cents (abbreviation: SLCts.). It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
history
In 1825, the British pound was declared the official booking fee of Ceylon and replaced the Ceylonese rix dollar with a conversion factor of 1 pound = 13⅓ rix dollars. The British silver money thus became legal tender on the island. Banknotes denominated in pounds were issued from 1827 and replaced the earlier rixdollar notes. By June 1831, the old notes still in circulation were withdrawn from payment transactions and were no longer valid from that point on.
The Indian rupee became Ceylon’s standard coin on September 26, 1836, when the island changed to the Indian currency area. The pound sterling banknotes remained in circulation after 1836 and were accepted as a means of payment alongside the rupee. The British silver coin was retained as legal tender, and commercial accounting continued to be carried out in pounds, shillings and pence. As a means of payment, however, the rupee and the anna with a fixed exchange rate of 2 shillings per rupee (i.e. 1 pound = 10 rupees) were increasingly preferred. The Bank of Ceylon was the first private bank to issue banknotes on the island from 1844.
The Indian rupee became formally unrestricted legal tender on June 18, 1869. On August 23, the rupee, previously divided into 16 anna, 64 paisa and 192 pai, was decimalized and divided into 100 cents. This made it Ceylon's money market currency and, from January 1, 1872, the sole legal tender, replacing the British pound with an exchange rate of 1 rupee = 2 shillings and 3 pence.
Coins
In 1872 copper coins with a value of ¼, ½, 1 and 5 cents with the minting date of 1870 were brought into circulation, followed from 1892 by silver coins with a value of 10, 25 and 50 cents. The production of the ¼ cent coins ceased in 1904. From 1909 onwards, the large 5-cent coins were replaced by smaller copper-nickel coins that were square in shape with rounded corners. In 1919 the silver content was reduced from 0.800 to 0.550.
A large-scale exchange of coins was carried out between 1940 and 1944. Production of the ½ cent coin ceased in 1940 and the 1 cent coin was made in bronze from 1942. In the same year, nickel-brass replaced the copper-nickel alloy in the 5-cent coin, as did silver in the 25 and 50-cent coins from 1943 onwards. In 1944, perforated nickel-brass coins with values of 2 and 10 cents were introduced.
In 1963 a new series of coins without a portrait of a monarch was introduced. The 1 and 2 cent coins issued consisted of aluminum, 5 and 10 cents from nickel-brass, 2 cents, 50 cents and 1 rupee from copper-nickel. A copper-nickel coin of 2 rupees and an aluminum-bronze coin of 5 rupees were finally introduced in 1984.
The coins issued since 1963 bear the coat of arms of Sri Lanka on the obverse. The reverse shows the face value and below the value in Sinhala , Tamil and English as well as the year of issue at the bottom and the inscription Sri Lanka in Sinhala at the top. On December 14, 2005, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued a new series of coins in denominations of 25 and 50 cents, 1, 2 and 5 rupees. The lower face values of 1, 2, 5 and 10 cents, which also have legal solvency, have largely disappeared from circulation and are usually no longer issued by banks.
The design of the front and back of the new coins are identical to the coins of the respective face value in circulation, but the weight and alloy have changed, which should make identification easier.
Current coins
| Current coins of Sri Lanka | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| image | value | front | back | metal | dimension | Weight | thickness | year | |
|
25 cents | Heraldic shield | Country name, date and face value |
Copper-plated steel | 16.0 mm | 1.68 g | 1.2 mm | 2005 | |
| [1] | 50 cents | 18.0 mm | 2.5 g | 1.4 mm | |||||
|
1 rupee | Brass coated steel | 20.0 mm | 3.65 g | 1.7 mm | ||||
| [2] | 2 rupees | Nickel plated steel | 28.5 mm | 7.0 g | 1.5 mm | ||||
| [3] | 5 rupees | Brass coated steel | 23.5 mm | 7.7 g | 2.7 mm | ||||
Commemorative coins
Commemorative coins are issued in denominations of 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 rupees and are also in circulation.
The commemorative coins issued so far by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka are:
- 1957 5 rupees "2500. Buddha Jayanthi"
- 1968 2 rupees "Second World Food Congress"
- 1976 2 & 5 rupees "5th Summit Conference of the Non-Aligned States - Colombo"
- 1978 1 rupee "First Presidency in Sri Lanka"
- 1981 5 rupees "50th anniversary of universal suffrage in Sri Lanka"
- 1981 2 rupees "Promotion of the Mahaweli Project"
- 1987 10 rupees "International Year of the Shoulder Project for the Homeless"
- 1990 500 rupees "40th anniversary of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka"
- 1991 100 & 500 rupees "5th South Asian Games in Colombo - December 1991"
- 1992 1 rupee "3rd anniversary of the inauguration of President R. Premadasa"
- 1993 500 rupees "2300. Anubudu Mihindu Jayanthi"
- 1995 2 rupees "50th anniversary of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization"
- 1995 5 rupees "50th anniversary of the UN"
- 1996 1 rupee "50th Anniversary of the United Nations Children's Fund"
- 1998 10 & 1000 & 5000 rupees "50th anniversary of independence - Sri Lanka"
- 1999 1000 rupees "Cricket World Cup 1996"
- 1999 1 rupee "50th anniversary of the Army of Sri Lanka"
- 2000 1000 rupees "50th anniversary of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka"
- 2000 1 rupee "50th anniversary of the Navy of Sri Lanka"
- 2001 1 rupee "50th Anniversary of the Air Force of Sri Lanka"
- 2001 2 rupees "50th anniversary of the Colombo Plan"
- 2003 5 rupees "250th anniversary of the chapters of Syamopali Maha Nikaya, Asgiriya and Malwatta" (two coins)
Banknotes
In 1895, the Ceylon government introduced the first paper money in the form of a 5 rupee note. This was followed in 1894 by a 10 rupee note, 1000 rupees in 1899, 50 rupees in 1914, 1 and 2 rupees in 1917 and 100 and 500 rupees from 1926. In 1942 there was an emergency issue for 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents -Bills issued up to 1949 instead.
In 1951, the Central Bank of Ceylon took over the issue of paper money with the introduction of notes of 1 and 10 rupees. This was followed in 1952 by notes with face values of 2, 5, 50 and 100 rupees. The 1 rupee note was replaced by coins in 1963.
Since 1977 the banknotes have been issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 20 rupee notes were introduced in 1979, followed by 500 and 1000 rupees in 1981, 200 rupees in 1998 and 2000 rupees from 2006. The unusual thing about Sri Lankan banknotes is their printing on the reverse, which shows the image vertically. The 200 rupee denominations were printed on a polymer substrate in 1998. All banknotes are produced by De la Rue Lanka Currency and Securities Print (Pvt) Ltd , a joint venture between the Sri Lankan government and De la Rue Gesellschaft, a printing company in the United Kingdom.
The nominal values currently in circulation are:
- 10 rupees
- 20 rupees
- 50 rupees
- 100 rupees
- 200 rupees (polymer notes from 1998 are still in circulation)
- 500 rupees
- 1000 rupees
- 2000 rupees (issued October 17, 2006)
- 5000 rupees
Banknote series
- 1951 "King George VI"
- 1952 "Queen Elizabeth II"
- 1956 "coat of arms of Ceylon"
- 1962 "SWRD Bandaranaike Portrait"
- 1965 "Vignette from Parakramabahu, the great"
- 1970 "SWRD Bandaranaike Portrait"
- 1975 "coat of arms of Sri Lanka"
- 1979 "Fauna and Flora"
- 1981 "Historical and Archaeological Topics"
- 1987 "Historical and Progressive Topics"
- 1991 "Sri Lanka Cultural Heritage"
- 1998 "50th Anniversary of the Independence of Sri Lanka" (commemorative note of 200 rupees in polymer)
- 2009 "The Beginning of Peace and Prosperity in Sri Lanka" (Reminder Note at the End of the Civil War )
Heritage series
The cultural heritage series has undergone various revisions since 1991. The 1995 revision had a raised hidden image in the lower center on the front. The 2001 revision was supplemented by a wide metallic stripe on the 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
Sources and literature
- Chester L. Krause, Clifford Mishler: Standard Catalog of World Coins : 1801-1991. 18th edition. Krause Publications, Iola, Wis. 1991, ISBN 0-87341-150-1 .
- Albert Pick, Neil Shafer: Standard Catalog of World Paper Money : General Issues. 7th edition. Krause Publications, Iola, Wis. 1994, ISBN 0-87341-207-9 .
Web links
- Historic banknotes from Sri Lanka
- Current coins of Sri Lanka
- Ancient coins of Sri Lanka
- Dutch VOC coins from Ceylon
- The Sinhala copper coinage system of the 12th to 15th centuries
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old dimensions, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 379.
