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2 Rupees, Central Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, 1979 (Pick 83)

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · partial

Period

1979

Issuing entity

Sri Lanka

This 2 Rupees note was issued in Sri Lanka by the Central Bank of Ceylon, dated 1979. It belongs to the Rupee (1972-date) currency system. Issuing authority and period recorded in the catalogue: Democratic Socialist Republic (1978-date). It measures 108 × 59 mm and is printed on paper. The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money lists the type as Pick 83.

Obverse: Denomination and bank name in Sinhala, Tamil, and English. Black ruby barb (puntius nigrofasciatus) swimming left, with rocks in upper background. Scripts: Sinhala and Tamil. Its lettering reads “இரண்டு ரூபாய் / TWO RUPEES / රුපියල් දෙකක්ශ්‍ / ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව / ශ්‍රී ලංකාණ්ඩුව වෙනුවෙන් නිකුත් කරන ලද මේ / මුදල් නෝට්ටුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඇතුළත ඕනෑම මුදල් ගණනක් / ගෙවිම සඳහා නිතියෙන් වලංගුය / මුදල් ඈමති / මහ බැංකුවේ අධිපති / இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி / CENTRAL BANK OF CEYLON. / 1979 – 03 – 26 / Puntius nigrofasciatus”. Translation given in the catalogue: “Two Rupees Two Rupees Central Bank of Sri Lanka Issued on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. This currency note is legally valid for payment of any amount within Sri Lanka. {signature of Ronnie de Mel} Finance Minister {signature of Warnasena Ras”.

Reverse: Tamil lacewing butterfly (cathosia nietneri nietneri) and Ceylonese tree skink (Dasia haliana) atop Murraya cleniei plant. Scripts: Tamil and Latin. Its lettering reads “ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව / இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி / CENTRAL BANK OF CEYLON. / රුපියල් දෙකයි / இரண்டு ரூபாய் / Two Rupees”. Watermark: Lion standing on hind legs facing left with bent whip in right paw. Identification note: match the value, issuing bank, printed date and Pick number together; dates and signature combinations distinguish sub-varieties, which are not separated in this entry. Details follow the Numista catalogue entry and the Standard Catalog reference it cites; they have not been checked against a central-bank archive.

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources
2
Photograph views
2
Catalogue references
2

Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.

Historical context

First issue of the Endemic Flower & Fauna series. P83a, signature Ronald Joseph Godfrey (Ronnie) de Mel De Mel was Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka from July, 23th., 1977 until January 18th., 1988. UV activity at 365nm:

Physical characteristics

Size
108 × 59 mm
Shape
Rectangular
Material
Paper
Watermark
Lion standing on hind legs facing left with bent whip in right paw.

Technical characteristics

Currency
Rupee (1972-date)
Issuing bank
Central Bank of Ceylon

Design

Obverse
Denomination and bank name in Sinhala, Tamil, and English. Black ruby barb (puntius nigrofasciatus) swimming left, with rocks in upper background. Scripts: Sinhala and Tamil
Reverse
Tamil lacewing butterfly (cathosia nietneri nietneri) and Ceylonese tree skink (Dasia haliana) atop Murraya cleniei plant. Scripts: Tamil and Latin
Obverse lettering
இரண்டு ரூபாய் / TWO RUPEES / රුපියල් දෙකක්ශ්‍ / ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව / ශ්‍රී ලංකාණ්ඩුව වෙනුවෙන් නිකුත් කරන ලද මේ / මුදල් නෝට්ටුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඇතුළත ඕනෑම මුදල් ගණනක් / ගෙවිම සඳහා නිතියෙන් වලංගුය / මුදල් ඈමති / මහ බැංකුවේ අධිපති / இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி / CENTRAL BANK OF CEYLON. / 1979 – 03 – 26 / Puntius nigrofasciatus
Reverse lettering
ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව / இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி / CENTRAL BANK OF CEYLON. / රුපියල් දෙකයි / இரண்டு ரூபாய் / Two Rupees

Identification

Value
2 Rupees
Dates recorded
1979
Distinguishing features
Printed date and signature combination separate sub-varieties
Catalogue number to match
Pick 83

Documentation checklist

Denomination
Research required
Issue or mint date
Recorded
Material
Recorded
Weight
Research required
Mint or printer
Research required
Mint or printer mark
Research required
Catalogue reference
Recorded
Attached photograph (check rights)
Recorded

Recorded means a field is present, not independently verified. Read its wording, supporting source and the entry’s confidence level.

Catalogue references

  • Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (Pick)P83
  • NumistaN# 210421

Research required

  • Confirm date and signature varieties against the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.
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