![USD rate to LKR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/USD_rate_to_LKR.svg)
The Sri Lankan Rupee ( si, රුපියල්, ta, ரூபாய்;
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
: Re and Rs (plural) in English, රු in Sinhala, ௹ in Tamil;
ISO code: LKR) is the currency of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. It is subdivided into 100
cent
Cent may refer to:
Currency
* Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency
* Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013
* 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944
* ...
s, but cents are rarely seen in circulation due to its low value. It is issued by the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...
. The abbreviation ''Re'' (singular) and ''Rs'' (plural) is generally used, the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
suggests SL Rs as a fully disambiguating abbreviation for distinction from other currencies named "rupee".
History
Sterling became Ceylon's official currency in 1825, replacing the
Ceylonese rixdollar
The rixdollar was the currency of British Ceylon until 1828. It was subdivided into 48 ''stivers'', each of 4 ''duit''. Units called the '' fanam'' and ''larin'' were also used, worth 4 and 9½ stiver, respectively. The currency derived from the D ...
at a rate of £1
stg = rixdollars, and British silver coin was made legal tender. Treasury notes denominated in sterling were issued in 1827, replacing the earlier rixdollar notes. Rixdollar notes not presented for exchange were demonetized in June 1831.
The
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
was made Ceylon's standard coin on 26 September 1836, and Ceylon reverted to the Indian currency area. Sterling-denominated treasury notes continued to circulate after 1836, along with the rupee. The legal currency remained British silver and accounts were kept in pounds, shillings and pence. However, payments were made in rupees and
annas
Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...
at the "fictitious par" (fixed accounting rate) of 2 shillings per rupee (i.e. £1 stg = Rs. 10/-).
The Bank of Ceylon was the first private bank to issue banknotes on the island (1844) and Treasury notes were withdrawn in 1856.
The Indian rupee was formally established as the unlimited legal tender 18 June 1869. The rupee was decimalized 23 August 1871. Thus, the rupee of 100 cents became Ceylon's money of account and sole legal tender effective 1 January 1872, replacing sterling at a rate of Re. 1/- = 2
s.3
d.
Following the Ceylon banking and monetary crisis of 1884, in which the largest exchange bank in the island,
The Orient Bank experienced an acute liquidity shortage, resulting in a run on the other two exchange banks,
Chartered Mercantile Bank and the
Bank of Madras
The Bank of Madras was one of the three Presidency Banks of British India, along with the Bank of Bengal and the Bank of Bombay. It was established on 1 July 1843 through the amalgamation of a number of existing regional banks and headquartere ...
. The Government of Ceylon, stepped in an enacted the ''Paper Currency Ordinance of 1884'' which was based on a similar Ordinance in Mauritius in 1876. The Paper Currency Ordinance, established a
currency board
In public finance, a currency board is a monetary authority which is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency. This policy objective requires the conventional objectives of a central bank to be subordinated to the exchan ...
, the
Board of Commissioners of Currency of Ceylon
The Board of Commissioners of Currency of Ceylon was the currency board of the British colony of Ceylon which functioned from 1884 to 1950, when its functions were transferred to the Monitory Board of the Central Bank of Ceylon. It was establishe ...
was established consisting of the
Colonial Secretary of Ceylon
The Chief Secretary of Ceylon, was the Chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of ''Colonial Secretary'' which was one of six offices that hel ...
, the
Treasurer of Ceylon
The Financial Secretary of Ceylon was an officer of the Ceylonese Government and member of the Board of Ministers. The Treasurer of Ceylon was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon from 1809 to 1932. The post wa ...
, and the
Auditor-General of Ceylon. This Ordinance linked the Ceylon currency notes and the
Indian silver rupees being mutually convertible at the office of the Currency Commissioners at a nominal par without any commission of one Ceylon rupee note to one Indian rupee coin.
By April 2022, political upheaval in Sri Lanka made the Sri Lankan rupee the world's "worst performing currency," according to the ''Financial Times.'' The currency's exchange rate had plummeted to over Rs. 350/- = US$1 .
Coins
![British Ceylon, 1 cent 1870, Victoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/British_Ceylon%2C_1_cent_1870%2C_Victoria.jpg)
In 1872, copper c, c, 1c and 5c coins dated 1870 were introduced, followed in 1892 by silver 10c, 25c and 50c. Production of the c ceased in 1904. The large, copper 5c coin was replaced in 1909 by a much smaller cupro-nickel coin which was square with rounded corners. In 1919, the fineness of silver used was reduced from .800 to .550.
Between 1940 and 1944, a wholesale change in the coinage was carried out. Production of the c ceased in 1940, with bronze 1c introduced in 1942 with reduced weight and thickness. Nickel-brass replaced cupro-nickel in the 5c in the same year and replaced silver in the 25c and 50c in 1943. In 1944, nickel-brass, scalloped shaped 2c and 10c coins were introduced. The scalloped 10c coin replaced the silver 10c coin. Later 2c coins issued in 1957 were the only coins from this period to ever depict
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. Coins with the portrait of
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
continued to be in circulation after his death in 1952. In 1957, cupro-nickel Re. 1/- coins and .925 silver Rs. 5/- coins commemorating 2,500 years of Buddhism were issued.
In 1963, a new coinage was introduced which omitted the monarch's portrait, depicting instead The Armorial ensign of Ceylon. Coins issued were aluminium 1c and 2c, nickel brass 5c and 10c and cupro-nickel 25c and 50c and Re. 1/-. These coins had the same shapes and sizes of the previous series but were composed of different materials. In 1976, commemorative seven-sided Rs. 2/- and ten-sided Rs. 5/- coins were introduced in limited numbers. In 1978, devaluation prompted aluminum to be the replacement of nickel-brass in the 5c and 10c, while shortly after 1c and 2c were discontinued. Cupro-nickel Rs. 2/- and aluminium-bronze Rs. 5/- coins were introduced in 1984 fully replacing the corresponding banknotes. In 1987, commemorative Rs. 10/- were released which like the 5c coin was square with round edges. In 1998 a bimetallic commemorative Rs. 10/- coin was released. Like earlier forerunner rupee denominations, these were again only issued in limited supply, not intended to replace the corresponding banknotes.
The obverse of the coins issued since 1972 carry the Armorial Ensign of the Republic of Sri Lanka. The reverse of the coin the value in numerals and in
Sinhala,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and English below and year of issue at the bottom with SRI LANKA in Sinhala on top. The lower denominations of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 25c and 50c are not in circulation and the minting of these denominations had been discontinued.
The observe and reverse designs of the new coins remained identical to the circulating coins of the new series based on similar denominations. However their weights and compositions have been changed to electroplated steel as opposed to a solid alloy for easier identification purposes and to save on production expense.
In the year 2017, a complete new series of stainless steel coins was introduced and is currently in circulation.
2017 - New coin series
Commemorative coins
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued commemorative coins since 1957.
On 15 December 2010, to mark the 60th Anniversary, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued a frosted proof crown size multi-colour silver commemorative coin in the denomination of Rs. 5,000/-. It was the first multi-colour coin issued by the Central Bank.
Commemorative coins issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka:
Banknotes
![CEY-23-Government of Ceylon-5 Rupees (1929)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/CEY-23-Government_of_Ceylon-5_Rupees_%281929%29.jpg)
The Government of Ceylon introduced its first rupee banknote issue in 1885. A Rs. 5/- note (1885–1925) was followed by Rs. 10/- (1894–1926) and Rs. 1,000/- notes (1899 and 1915). A second issue included the Re. 1/- (1917–1939), Rs. 2/- (1917–1921), Rs. 50/- (1914) and Rs. 100/- (1919) notes. During the 1920s (and in some cases the 1930s) the Re. 1/- (mentioned above), Rs. 2/- (1925–39), two types of Rs. 5/- (1925–28 and 1929–39), two types of Rs. 10/- (1927–28 and 1929–39), Rs. 50/- (1922–39), Rs. 100/- (1926–39), Rs. 500/- (1926), and Rs. 1,000/- (1929) notes were all in circulation.
There were two issues in 1941. The first consisted of a Re. 1/-, Rs. 2/-, Rs. 5/-, Rs. 10/- banknote issued only in 1941. Though issued slightly earlier, a Rs. 1,000/- note (1938) has been grouped with this issue. The 1941 second issue consisted of Re. 1/- (1941–49), Rs. 2/- (1941–49), Rs. 5/- (1941–49), Rs. 10/- (1941–46), Rs. 50/- (1941–45), Rs. 100/- (1941–45), Rs. 1,000/- (1941), and Rs. 10,000/- (1947) notes. In 1942, fractional banknote issues were introduced. A 25c and 50c note (1942) were followed by a second issue of 5c (1942), 10c (1942–43), 25c (1942–49), and 50c notes (1942–49).
The Central Bank of Ceylon issued Re. 1/- and Rs. 10/- notes (1951), Rs. 1/-, Rs. 2/-, Rs. 5/-, Rs. 50/-, and Rs. 100/- notes (1952–54)
The Re. 1/- notes were replaced by coins in 1963.
From 1977, banknotes were issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Rs. 20/- notes were introduced in 1979, followed by Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1,000/- in 1981. The Rs. 200/- in 1998 and Rs. 2,000/- in 2006 (discontinued). Sri Lankan banknotes are unusual in that they are printed vertically on the reverse. In 1998, a Rs. 200/- note was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of independence (1948–1998). This is the first polymer banknote issued in Sri Lanka, and it was printed by Note Printing Australia. All other denominations are printed by the De la Rue Lanka Currency and Securities Print (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture of the Government of Sri Lanka and
De La Rue
De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...
.
Portraits of former Sri Lankan prime ministers and former president
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
have graced the fronts of Sri Lankan bank notes, while the backs have featured Sri Lankan fauna and flora, Sri Lankan landscapes and industries, and images depicting Sri Lankan culture, history, and achievements.
Exchange rate
The Sri Lankan rupee is a closed currency which means it is not available to buy or sell outside of Sri Lanka.
One can buy LKR at the Sri Lankan airport or currency outlets available throughout the country.
See also
*
Economy of Sri Lanka
The free-market economy of Sri Lanka was worth $84 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 and $296.959 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country had experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well a ...
References
Footnotes
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Ceylon and Sri Lanka Collectables – Banknotes and CoinsDutch V.O.C coins of CeylonCommemorative Coins and Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankan Rupee
Currencies of Sri Lanka
Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations