| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Denomination | Rupees one |
| Alloy | Nickel-plated steel |
| Diameter | 25.4 mm |
| Thickness | 2.0 mm |
| Weight | 7.13 gms |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Grained |
| Die-Axis | 0° |
| Issue BU | 20,000 |
| Proof Cu-Ni | 2,000 |
| Mint | Monnaie de Paris |
A commemorative one rupee nickel-plated steel coin was issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on 2000 December 9th to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy.
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| KM# 164 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Obverse : The Armorial Ensign of Sri Lanka Navy in the centre with the
years '1950-2000' depicted below. The words
`SRI LANKA NAVY' in Sinhala, Tamil and English appear at
the top, left and right sides along the periphery.
Reverse : To the left an artist's impression of a ship of the Sri Lanka
Navy. The value `ONE RUPEE' in Sinhala, Tamil and English
to the right in 3 lines. `Sri Lanka' in Sinhala, Tamil, and English at
the top, left, and right sides along the periphery. The year of issue
`2000' is at the bottom centre.
The nickel plated steel coin has been minted to the existing standard Rs. 1/- in circulation. The Proof coin is Cupro-Nickel and not be atracted by magnets and of different metal than the BU issue. The artwork was done by Central Bank artist Mrs Padmanjalie Karunatillake on an impression by Captain Shemal Fernando, RSP USP of the Sri Lanka Navy. Minted at Monnaie De Paris in France. This Mint had not been previously used for Lanka coins which are almost always minted in the Royal Mint in London.
The commemorative coins were obtained from the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka.
The Proof coin enclosed in a circular hard plastic coin
holder is embedded in black velvet inside a Dark Blue covered 6.6cm
square rexine coverred hinged metal box. The Emblem of the Sri Lanka Navy
printed in Silver on top with the words "SRI LANKA NAVY 50TH
ANNIVERSARY 9 DECEMBER 2000" in 3 lines and the CBSL Emblem in
Dark Blue on the white satin of the inside cover. A machine numbered
beige card Certificate of Authenticity contains the specifications and
description in Sinhala, Tamil and English is tucked into white satin
band across lower-left corner of inside cover. The issue price in Sri
Lanka Rs 500/- (US $6.25).
The brilliant uncirculated coin
enclosed in a circular hard plastic coin holder is embedded in black
velvet inside a white plastic 7.5cm square box. The Emblem of the Sri
Lanka Navy printed in Blue on top with the words "Sri Lanka Navy
50th Anniversary 9 December 2000" and the CBSL Emblem in blue on
the white paper of the inside cover. A machine numbered beige card
Certificate of Authenticity contains the specifications and
description in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The issue price (December
2000) in Sri Lanka Rs 200/- (US $2.50).
This limited commemorative coin was not issued for circulation at face value. The very large primium relative to face was the largest for any coin issue before then. The BU coin is almost Proof-like but can be clearly distinguished since it is Nickel plated Steel and attracted by magnets, unlike the Proof which Cupro-Nickel like that of the AirForce coin. Both the Proof and the BU of the Army coin was Nickel plated Steel and attracted by magnets.
Media Reports 2000 12 07 CDN ; 2000 12 08 Island
I thank Shehan Patterson of HSBC for obtaining these commemorative coins for me from the Central Bank and sending me this nice 300dpi scan which I have displayed at 250dpi in reverse video to highlight the detail on these very reflective proof coins. CBSL had only posted a poor scan on their website.