Catalog
10 Rupees Ratnapura
| Issuer | Central Bank of Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
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| Composition | Stainless steel (AISI 430) |
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| Obverse description | Within a circular inner border, the conical silhouette of Adam's Peak rises from the lower field, with a radiant sunrise depicted above its summit, rays emanating outward across the upper field. Five gemstones of varying cuts — including round brilliant, pear, octagonal, heart, and marquise forms — are arranged in the lower foreground, referencing Ratnapura's identity as Sri Lanka's gem capital. The trilingual city name appears as a legend along the upper rim, rendered in Tamil script to the left, Sinhala script at center, and Latin script to the right. The date 2013 is inscribed along the lower rim. The coin's hendecagonal flan features a decorative geometric motif at each of the eleven angles. |
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| Reverse script | Latin, Sinhala, Tamil |
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| Additional information |
Ratnapura — "City of Gems" in Sinhala — has been Sri Lanka's center of sapphire, ruby, and spinel mining since at least the 4th century, and the trade drew Arab, Chinese, and later Portuguese merchants long before European colonial administration formalized the industry. The 2013 commemorative rupee series, of which this piece is part, honored Sri Lanka's historic cities, each assigned its own circulating denomination.
AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel was adopted by the Central Bank partly for its resistance to the island's humid tropical conditions, which had accelerated corrosion in earlier cupro-nickel issues.