BANKNOTES OF SRI LANKA
FORMERLY CEYLON
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Date	Pick#	Denomination	Observations	Obverse	Reverse
Ceylon
1977	81	50 Rupees
1981	89	500 Rupees
1982	92	10 Rupees
1982	94	50 Rupees
1982	81	100 Rupees
Sri Lanka
1995	109	20 Rupees
1995	110	50 Rupees
1995	111	100 Rupees
1995	112	500 Rupees
1998	114b	200 Rupees
2001	116a	20 Rupees
2001	118a	100 Rupees
2001	121a	1000 Rupees

The Sri Lankan Rupee.
The rupee is the official currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. The currency's ISO 4217 code is LKR. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and is generally written ₨ (though SL₨ may occasionally be used for disambiguation).

Until 1870, the British pound was Ceylon's official currency, having replaced the rixdollar in 1828. Quarter farthings (one sixteenth of a penny), half farthings (one eighth of a penny) and three halfpennies (1 1⁄2 pence) were issued in addition to those coins used in Britain.

The rupee was introduced in 1870. It was equal to the Indian rupee and replaced the British currency at a rate of 1 rupee = 2 shillings 3 pence. Unlike the Indian rupee, the Sri Lankan rupee was a decimal currency from the very beginning.

In December 2005, a new set of coins with denominations 5 rupee, 2 rupee, 1 rupee, 50 cents and 25 cents have been released. These new coins circulate alongside the older coins. Coins of smaller denomination although legal tender are almost never seen in circulation.

Sri Lankan banknotes are unusual in that they are printed vertically on the reverse.  Banknotes are currently printed by "De la Rue Lanka Currency and Securities Print (Pvt) Ltd", a joint venture between the Government of Sri Lanka and Thomas De la Rue, a British banknote and securities printer.

Current banknotes are issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 Rupees. The note of 200 rupees was issued in 1998 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Independence for Sri Lanka. The 200 Rupee note was only intended to be in circulation for a short time, but due to its popularity it remains in circulation to today. On 17 October 2006 a new note of 2000 Rupees was issued. Older Sri Lankan and Ceylon banknotes remain legal tender.

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Page created:     10 December 2006
Last Update:      10 December 2006

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