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Currency history

Ceylon / Sri Lankan rupee

Ceylon / Sri Lankan rupee: a currency still in use.

Dates in use
Still in use; introduction date not established here
Currency code
LKR
Ancestry branch
Indian rupee

Its place in the family

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Ceylon / Sri Lankan rupee: documented and qualified family connections PREDECESSORS THIS CURRENCY SUCCESSORS Indian rupeeIndian rupee 1872–1949 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1872–1949 Maldivian rufiyaaMaldivian rufiyaa 1947 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1947 Ceylon / Sri Lankan rupeeCeylon / Sri Lankan rupee LKR

The story

The central bank's history dates decimal coinage to 17 March 1872, with 100 cents per rupee. It describes the central bank as inheriting the existing currency system in 1950. [1]

The Maldivian rupee, later called rufiyaa, replaced the Ceylonese rupee in 1947. No exact conversion rate or exclusive currency use asserted; local coin and larin history remains open. [2]

Ceylon public accounts were kept in rupees and cents from 1January 1872. Existing sterling statutory and contractual treasury payments were payable in rupees at two shillings per rupee. [3]

Sources and evidence

  1. Central Bank of Sri Lanka · 60th Anniversary Commemorative Volume, 1950–2010 C507 ↗
  2. World Bank, South Asia Regional Office · The Maldives: An Introductory Economic Report C1176 ↗
  3. B. W. Fernando, Ceylon Government Press (1939) · Ceylon Currency British Period, Chapter III C1489 ↗

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Cite this page

“Ceylon / Sri Lankan rupee.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/FTM000291.html

Editorial evidence supplement · Download dataset v44

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