Lakdiva was called Celio by the Portuguese, Ceylan by the Dutch, Ceylon by the British during colonial Era. It became Sri Lanka in Sinhala language at independence in 1948 but that did not appear on coins till 1957. In 1963 it used the name ලංකා (Lanka in Sinhala) on coins. The official name in English was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972 when Lanka became a Republic. Lanka even took the name Shri Lanka for a brief period in 1992 June and 1993 December, but luckily that did not appear on any Banknote and only one NCLT coin.
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If you have any questions on Lankan coins or Banknotes please send an E-mail to lakdiva_org @ googlegroups.com . This ensures that my reply is archived, and others can search and get an answer without asking same question again. I used to use AllExperts which terminated abruptly after 19 years in 2017 April. Read my former profile at AllExperts.com which is still on archive.org
The Sri Lanka Numismatic Society (SLNS) met every 3rd Sunday of the month (except if that is a Public Holiday) from 2-4 PM at the Board Room of the Royal Asiatic Society, No. 86, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha (Green Path), Colombo 7. (Mahaweli center, near back entrance to Colombo National Museum). Meetings suspended since 2020 March because of COVID-19. Met a few months online at same time on GoogleMeet. Now chats on WhatsApp. If you are interested in Coins and Banknotes of Lanka/Ceylon, you are welcome to join. Please introduce yourself with Name, Location and Collecting interests, with a WhatsApp message to +94712537551.
I may mention rarity, but I have not included any market value of any
coin. Price is very subjective, in a small Numismatic market like Sri
Lanka, and that is why I don't even attempt to give prices on my
website. I have asked some dealers to help create a price list that I
was willing to host on my website, but none have obliged. The best
resource is to take a look at the price of sold items of that type on
eBay, or major online Auctions like Noonans and Spinks for the more rare item.
However finally, the price of any coin is what a seller is
willing to sell and at what the buyer is willing to buy, and how many
buyers who know about the sale are interested in buying at the price
the seller is willing to sell, and how many of that item is available
at that time for sale. Simple Supply and Demand.
Please DON'T ASK about valuation I am just a collector not a dealer.
For description of the monetary system in Lanka please read
overview.
For E-books on History of Lanka please read
Codrington -
Mahavamsa -
For the recent value of Lanka Rupee look at
depreciation.
If you particularly interest in Lankan coins please read
Notes,
Media and
Warnings.
If you travel in Lanka, I recommend you visit Museums with Lankan coins.
Illustration Topic : Line Drawing features on ancient
coin
Preservation Topic : Cleaning Ancient encrusted Lankan
coin
Collection Topic : Documentation, Conservation, Security and Handling of Coins Guide
Database : Online
Catalog for Lankan Coins.
600 dpi scanned Plates from 1924 First Edition of Codrington's Coin book with Comparison
Latest Definitive Coin - 2018 December 3rd -
2017 Steel Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, and Rs 10 coins
Latest Commemorative Coins
Circulated - 2022 March 21st: Nickel plated Steel
2020 - Colombo Medical Faculty 150th Anniversary
- Rs 20 coin
2021 - Sri Lanka Census of Population and Housing 150th Anniversary
- Rs 20 coin
NCLT - 2023-02-04 Rs1000 Cu-Ni
coin
75th Independence Day. Public Issue 2023-03-09
2018 Dec - Roar Interview - Short 4 min Video - longer Article
Calendars on Lankan Coins : CR 2008 - NDB 2011 - LKD 2022
Incredibly Rare Find Filipe III Gold 163x St Thome coin of Goa
Collection acquired Recently : OBRW Plate Specimens Coins & Tokens from Raja Wickramasinghe's collection.
Dutch Hoard: 19 Silver coins from Dutch Period. 1670
Research Topic : Statistical
Analysis of 100
RajaRaja massa coins
Rare Find : The LTTE Gold
token from Jaffna, Lanka.
Gold Sovereigns used in Lanka
Unexpected Scarcity : 2009 25 and 50 cent coins in circulation.
Catalog Topic : Mint ReStrikes of
Coins from Lanka.
Photo-Essay Ruhuna
A site for discovery of ancient Lankan coins
and items.
Topical subset : Astronomical Symbols on
Coins from Lanka.
Topical subset : Over two Millennium of Elephants on
Coins from Lanka.
Topical subset : Over One Millennium of Gold Coins
Coins in lakdiva Collection.
On lk Stamps : Coins images on Sri Lanka
Stamps.
Recently updated - Coffee tokens of Ceylon
Ceylon USA - tokens including Good For tokens from Ceylon Minnesota.
Special Exhibits :
Rare Coins from Ceylon in the Collection of Jan Lingen.
Exhibit: Online Treasure of the Great Basses. 2003 Fall PAN Show - Pittsburgh, USA
Book Online Ceylon Currency British Period 1796-1936 by B. W. Fernando
Article Graeme Stephens on Lankan coins ( PDF 3.65MB) + Appendix ( PDF 0.35MB )
Art: Art on Lead Tokens from Ancient Ruhuna
Interview: Roar.LK: A conversation on coin Collecting with Dr Kavan Ratnatunga
Lectures : by Dr Kavan Ratnatunga
Images of coins from the Lakdiva Collection have been used to
illustrate the panels of the Coin galleries of the
National Museum Colombo.
Archaeology Department Museum
in Anuradhapura.
Bank of Ceylon Museum in Colombo.
Old coins have features which allow one to identify them Uniquely.
These Museums do have most of these coin types, but to copy from my
website without any acknowledgement, seems to be much simpler than
scanning or photographing their own coins.
For Information on Lankan Currency Notes Visit notes.lakdiva.org.lk
Philip Grierson - Prof of Numismatics, University of Cambridge.
Of all antiquities coins are the smallest, yet, as a class, the most authoritative in record, and the widest in range. No history is so unbroken as that which they tell; no geography so complete; no art so continuous in sequence, nor so broad in extent; no mythology so ample and so various. Unknown kings and lost towns, forgotten divinities and new schools of art have here their authentic record. Individual character is illustrated and the tendencies of races defined.
- R.S. Poole, Coins and Medals Curator, British Museum (1894).
After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.
- Hemant Joshi
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