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What is the currency of Sri Lanka?


The currency in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan Rupee which has a sign od Rs and a currency code LKR. One Sri Lankan rupee is comprised 100 cents. Sometimes, "Rp" and "SLR" are used as currency symbol.

History of the currency,

The earliest coins in Lanka are known as kashapanas or puranas. These are flat pieces of silver cut from sheets or thin bars and trimmed to the correct weight and then stamped with various punch marks. They can be round, rectangular, square or multi-sided.These coins are flan and often overlap at least one other of the punches. Each punch mark had its own particular meaning and over 300 have been identified by numismatic scholars. The punch marks include many objects including trees, animals, symbols of Buddhist worship, solar and planetary signs. Puranas are also well known from the same period in India but can usually be distinguished from those of Lankan origin by unique combinations of punch marks.

Image result for Silver Karshapana or Puranas    Silver Karshapanas or Puranas

Then Sri Lankan currency moved to Lakshmi Plaques. These are rectangular pieces of Copper with a stylised figure of the goddess Lakshmi on the obverse and a railed swastika revolving to the right.

Image result for Lakshmi PlaquesLakshmi Plaques

Then After the Lakshmi Plaques anciet Sri Lankans used Maneless Lion coins.These copper coins have been attributed to the 2nd and 3rd Centuries by Lingen and were certainly still in use during the reign of King Mahasena. The specimen shown in the photo is well worn (as most are) but shows the maneless lion on the obverse and the four dots in a circle on the reverse.

Image result for maneless coinsManeless coins



Those are the examples for the earliest coins at the 1st, 2nd ,3rd Centuries. After those Sri Lankans became to The Dutch Occupatnio. in that period Sri Lankans used Different type of coins rather than above mentioned coins. thos coins are known as,
  •  Earliest Dutch Coinage
  • Batavia Dollars
  •  The Pulicat Series
  •  The Negapatnam Coinage
  •  The Wreath Series
  •  The Dutch Silver Home Coinage
  • The VOC Doit copper coinage
  • The Copper VOC “dump” coinage
Then the Sri Lanka came to the British Colonisation. On 2nd March, 1815, the cession of the Kandy Provinces placed the whole island under British sovereignty. There are fore main types of coins at that period. Those are,
  • Copper Dump 1/12 Rix-dollar, 1811
  • Copper Dump 1/24 Rix-dollar, 1801 
  • Copper Dump 1/48 Rix-dollar, 1803
  • Silver Dump 1 Rix-dollar, 1808
Forgeries 
There are a large number of coin forgeries on the market today worldwide, often sold through ebay, but also by vendors selling to tourists in the tourist shops and in the street. Sri Lanka is no exception. Forgeries fall into two categories, contemporary and modern. Contemporary forgeries are those made during the same era as the copied coin. These can have some value depending on their use. Modern forgeries are those made within the last few decades trying to replicate old coins of any country and are quite worthless


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