50 Rupees

Ceylon's Central Bank was only established in 1950, making this note part of the institution's first generation of high-denomination issues. John Exter, an American economist sent by the IMF to set up the bank, served as its founding Governor — his signature appearing on the 1952 date makes this among the earliest notes he signed before departing the post. Bradbury Wilkinson held a near-monopoly on South Asian colonial and post-colonial currency printing through this period, and the engraved quality of their work for Ceylon is considerably finer than contemporaneous issues from regional competitors.

The 1954 signature combination marks the transition to fully domestic signatories.