2 Rupees Central Bank of Ceylon

The Central Bank of Ceylon's 2 Rupee series ran across more than a decade under considerable political pressure to replace British-era imagery with something more locally resonant — a process that moved slowly and unevenly through the postcolonial administration. Bradbury Wilkinson handled the printing throughout, working from their New Malden facility where they produced security documents for dozens of smaller Commonwealth-linked central banks during this period.

P#72A is the signature variety collectors treat as the baseline for the series. Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, but note issuance under the Ceylon name continued past that transition, which occasionally creates dating confusion when cataloging mid-run examples.