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KM# 2?? |
Obverse : Front view of the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapakse Theater centered
below the crossed National Flag of China on the left and Sri Lanka on the right.
Year 2022 in large numerals below.
ශ්රී ලංකා -
චීන වසර 65 යි
in Sinhala above;
இலங்கை -
சீனா 65
ஆண்டுகள்
in Thamil on right;
and SRI LANKA - CHINA 65 YEARS in English on left along the periphery.
Reverse : Numeral 100 with years 1921-2021 below with legend
චීන
කොමියුනිස්ට්
පක්ෂය in Sinhala;
சீனப்
பொதுவுடைமைக்
கட்சி in Thamil; and
COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA in 3 lines below.
Huge numeral 1000 with
රුපියල් in Sinhala,
ரூபாய் in Thamil
and RUPEES in English below along periphery.
ශ්රී ලංකා in Sinhala above;
இலங்கை in Thamil on right;
and SRI LANKA in English on left along the periphery.
Coin was scanned at 600 dpi, PhotoShoped and displayed at 254 dpi.
CBSL issued a Press release on Tuesday July 6th and the coin is to be
sold at a price of Rs.222,000(US$1100) for Gold Coin .
The limited lot of 400 Frosted Proof Gold coins
were issued on 2021 July 12 in a presentation box, with a certificate
of authenticity.
On the International bullion value on issue date
the Gold coin
with 1.5 Gold Sovereigns or (0.3531 AGW) at US$1810 per troy
ounce(31.1035 grams), had US$640 of Gold (Melt 58% of issue price).
CBSL insists that the coins are being sold at cost and include cost of
Packing, Air Freight, Customs Duty etc.
Enclosed in a circular transparent pushfit plastic capsule which was sealed
within a transparent plastic sachet. That needs to be cut open to
embed capsule in a black velvet inside the Green rexine covered 8x9cm square
spring hinged presentation box with the Sri Lanka-China 65th
anniversary logo printed in Gold colour on top.
Centered on the back bottom is CHINA BANKNOTE PRINTING AND
MINTING in two lines with their logo on left. The box was packed
within a Dark Green sleeve in a polythene bag. There was a small pack
of Silica-gel within each box. On the left of the inside cover
has a small sash to hold a numbered certificate, printed is in English
in front and back and Sinhala and Tamil inside. Front has cnlk-dpl65
logo on top and the logo of Mint with its name in English at bottom.
The first coin was officially presented to the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, by Deshamanya Prof. W D Lakshman, Governor of CBSL at the Presidential Secretariat on 2021 July 6th.
Read my article
CB wastes valuable foreign exchange on non-circulating coins
which was published in the Sunday Times of 2021 July 11th.
The news that the CB was going to issue a commemorative coin to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of CCP was revealed in a Facebook post on June 16 by Dr. Waruna Chandrakeerthi, a former employee of CB who got his Ph.D. in China. According to him the suggestion came from one local politician who wanted to put the CCP logo on the obverse of the coin. At a planning meeting, a Chinese representative who did not like proposal suggested as an alternative celebrate the 65th anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations in 2022. So the coin issued commemorates both.
I am of the opinion CBSL should have used the Colombo Port City built by the Chinese, rather than CCP100, and issued a well-designed coin in 2022, rather than a rush job on a very expensive coin. The 1998 coins for the 50th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Independence were beautiful works of art, not just over priced Bullion.
Queue to buy Gold and Silver coins outside CBSL Cash counter |
See also feature article in the Island Newspaper 2021-07-18 referencing this coin issue and this video.
For nearly the 25 years I have purchased individual coins and banknotes, I have limited my collection to less than US$300 numismatic premium, which for a coin with US$640 gold is US$940. This gold coin at US$1100 exceeded this limit. I am anoyed that I had to break my limit to buy it.