A Proof Coin Set minted by the Royal Mint after 1978 February in its "Coins of the World" series, with the official name in English, Sri Lanka which was adopted on 1972 May 22nd. Includes the 1978 regular coins as well as the J. R. Jayawardene commemorative coin issued that year. Limited issue of 20,000.
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Sri Lanka can claim to be one of the pioneers of the decimal system of currency. The rupee and its decimal sub-divisions were declared legal tender as early as 1872.
All coins carried the effigy of the ruling British Monarch on the obverse, until 1963 when coins were introduced carrying instead the country's armorial ensign. The 1 rupee coin issued in 1978 to commemorate the inauguration of the President, J.R. Jayawardene, is the first to carry the President's effigy.
The eight coins in this first Sri Lanka proof coin set are the 1, 2, 5 and 10 cent denominations struck in aluminium, the 25 cent, 50 cent, 1 rupee standard and 1 rupee commemorative denominations struck in cupro-nickel.
The common obverse shows the armorial ensign of Sri Lanka comprising a lion passant with a decorative surround.
The reverses, except for the 1 rupee commemorative coin, show the appropriate value in Sinhalese, Tamil and English script. Circumscribing this is a decorative motive: above appears the name "Sri Lanka" while below the date "1978". The 1 rupee commemorative shows centrally an effigy of President J. R. Jayawardene and directly underneath the date of his inauguration: "1978-02-04". Circumscribing this is the value shown in the above languages and also the name "Sri Lanka".
This Sri Lanka Proof Set is one of a limited edition of 20,000 sets issued by the Royal Mint in its "Coins of the World" series.
The Proof Set was scanned at 300 dpi and needs to be photographed to get depth of focus. It was purchased from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in the 1990s.