It may be just an observation, but it appears as if the line of nations that are replacing a low denomination bank note with a coin is getting longer almost on a weekly basis. The logic is there. It is typically cost effective to have a coin that may circulate from between 20 and 40 years in use rather than a bank note that may circulate from between six months and perhaps two years.

The latest country to announce it is joining this increasingly long line is Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. According to an announcement appearing April 5 at Lanka Business Online, a nickel-plated 10-rupee coin was to be issued immediately, replacing the bank note of the same denomination currently in circulation. No information was immediately available regarding withdrawal and demonetization of the bank note.

The new coin has a diameter of 26.4 mm, with the heraldry for Sri Lanka and a petal design at the rim on the obverse. The reverse depicts the denomination numeral in English, Sinhalese, and Tamil.

The 10-rupee bank note was the lowest denomination in circulation that was still being printed. The remaining 2- and 5-rupee bank notes in circulation are no longer being produced.

Sri Lanka’s current circulation coinage consists of a nickel-plated steel 25 cents, copper-nickel 1- and 2-rupee coins, aluminum-bronze 5 rupee dated 2003, and a brass 5 rupee dated 2006. In addition there is a ringed bimetal 10-rupee coin that until recently circulated simultaneously with the bank note of the same denomination. The future of this coin was not explained in time for this article.

Bank notes denominations in circulation that are currently being printed are the 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 rupees. These notes are issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. De La Rue Lanka Currency and Securities Print (Pvt.) Ltd. prints all Sri Lanka bank notes. This organization is a joint venture between the government and the De La Rue company.

It takes 114.30 Sri Lanka rupees to equal one U.S. dollar, according to the latest issue of MRI Banker’s Guide to Foreign Currency.

The new 10-rupee coin was publicized through the presentation of an example to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nivard Cabraal.

The currency system for Sri Lanka is based on 100 cents equal to one rupee. Each coin issued since 1963 depicts the heraldry of Sri Lanka. This heraldry replaced a depiction of the British monarch who had appeared on earlier coinage. The metal content of the circulating coins was changed in 1978, with 2- and 5-rupee coins introduced in 1984. The latest series of coins was introduced in late 2005 and includes the seldom seen 1-, 2-, 5-, and 10-cent denominations.

Paper money was first introduced in 1895 when the nation was known as Ceylon. The Central Bank of Ceylon began issuing currency in 1951, with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka taking over this authority in 1977. It was the Central Bank of Ceylon that in 1951 first issued the 10-rupee bank note. One unusual aspect of Sri Lanka’s current bank notes is that they are printed vertically or in portrait rather than horizontally on the back.

The current Heritage bank note series was introduced in 1991. In 1995 an enhanced latent image appearing at the center bottom of the front of each note was added, with an additional metallic security strip added to the 500- and 1,000-rupee notes in 2001.

Source LBO