commemorative: Sri Lanka

Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts

01 November 2025

...Sri Lanka - 2000 Rupees Central Bank 75th Year Commemorative

ශ්‍රීලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Est.1950)

Currency - Rupee (LKR)

This is a 2,000 rupee issued on 29.08.2025, celebrating the 75th year of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The central bank was established on 28.08.2025, with its head office situated at Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka. This commemorative note is printed on paper material.

Back in 2020, the then Bank Governor Deshamanya Weligamage Don Lakshman (tenure December 2019 - September 2021) announced that it will introduce a new 2,000 rupees to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Central Bank. As we all know now, this did not happen. It is not sure why this was delayed until now. Just for the record, this 2,000 rupees is worth less than US$7.

Two Thousand Rupees

Front - The image of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka located in Colombo. Within a short walking distance is the Lighthouse Clock tower which is located at the roundabout or the junction of Chatham Street and Janadhipathib Mawatha. This clock tower was built in 1857 as a lighthouse and is now a landmark in the heart of the official district in Colombo. To the bottom left is the city skyline silhouette of Colombo city. The commemorative 75 Years (Stability for Prosperity) logo is printed on the bottom far left corner.

Governor - Dr Nandalai Weerasinghe

Date - 2025-08-28

Watermark - Coat of Arms

Sizes - 159mm x 67mm

Back - A stylised map of Sri Lanka printed with circular shapes on all over the map. The national flower of Sri Lanka, a blue water lily is printed on top of the map. This aquatic flower is also known locally as Nil Manel. The water lily is a symbol of purity, serenity, and has significant cultural and spiritual importance to the people of Sri Lanka. The water lily was adopted as the national flower on 26.02.1986. On top is printed with the 75 Years commemorative logo.

01 April 2018

...Sri Lanka - 70th Year of Independence Commemorative 2018

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

இலங்கை ஜனநாயக சோசலிச குடியரசு

A new 1000 rupees dated 04.02.2018 was released on 30.01.2018 commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Independence of Sri Lanka 1948-2018. Independence was achieved from British rule on 04.02.1948. The country was first colonised by the Portuguese in 1517, then the Dutch from 1638 and in 1815, the British took over until 1948.

Between 1947 and 1972, the country was known as Dominion of Ceylon with King George Vl as the Head of State and then Queen Elizabeth ll from 1952 following the death of her father until 1972. From 22.05.1972, the country changed it's official name to Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with an elected President on a five-year term.

This commemorative note celebrate the various religion faiths in Sri Lanka with designs including a Hindu Temple, a Mosque, a Tamil Kovil and a Church on the from. The majority of the population in the country are Buddhist (70+%). The note is predominantly in green just like the current 1000 Rupees note and the design on the back is the same as the current issue. This is the 4th commemorative banknote issued since gaining independence.

Five million pieces issued with prefixes from S70/1 to S70/5. These notes are issued at face value. However a small number of the notes are also sold in an attractive holder at the price of 1,300 Rupees each.

One Thousand Rupees

Dated 2018

Reverse

04 January 2014

...Sri Lanka - 500 Rupees 2013 CHOGM

Five Hundred Rupees

Dated 2013, PNL

Sri Lanka 500 Rupees Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) commemorative. This note was issued on 15.11.2013 commemorating the 23rd CHOGM held in Colombo Sri Lanka (10-17 November 2013). CHOGM is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. The 2013 meeting was hosted by the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakso (Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office). Queen Elizabeth ll who is the Head of the Commonwealth did not attend this meeting but was represented by her eldest son, HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. In all a total of 53 world leaders attended the meeting. This meeting was also boycotted by the governments of Canada, India and Mauritius in protest of widespread human rights abuses against the country's minority. The design of the note is the same as the 500 Rupees first issued in 2011 (1.1.2010 series) but with minor alterations. The CHOGM logo for this summit was added to the note replacing the butterfly that appears on the 2011 issue. A total of 5.0 million pieces were issued with serial numbers ranging from T/51 000001 to T/55 1000000. A small number of these notes are also sold in a folder at 800 Rupees each. This is the forth CHOGM note ever issued, I think, after Scotland (Clydesdale Bank plc 1997 £20), Uganda (2007 10,000 Shillings) and Trinidad &Tobago (2009 $100). The next CHOGM was supposed to be held in Mauritius and since the Government of Mauritius boycotted this meeting, they have decided not to stage the next gathering. The 2015 CHOGM will be held at Malta and with Vanuatu staging the 2017 meeting. It is very unlikely that Malta will release any banknote to commemorate this special event given that they have adopted the Euro currency. Perhaps Vanuatu will in 2017.

Reverse

Front Folder Cover

08 March 2011

Sri Lanka - 5000 Rupees 2011 Commemorative

60th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Five Thousand Rupees, Dated 1.1.2011 (4.2.2011)

Reverse

Individual Note Folder

This note was issued to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The founder governor was John Exter, an American Economist. The bank, initially known as Central Bank of Ceylon, commenced operations on 28.8.1950 and renamed its name to Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 1985.

You can also view the rest of of the 2010 (2011) issues here.

...Sri Lanka - 2011 Folders Full Set Commemorative

This is a new series of banknotes issued in 2011. A full set consists of 6 notes from 20 to 5000 rupees. This set was issued in a folder and all serial numbers are matching - 005344. These notes are all dated 01.01.2010 but were issued in 2011.

Twenty Rupees, Dated 2010.01.01 (4.2.2011) P123
Matching Serial Number "005344" [terrible serial numbers :-( ]
Colombo Port

Reverse - Ves Dancer & Geta Bera Drummer