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50 Rupees Central Bank of Ceylon
| Issuer | Central Bank of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972-1974 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Rupees |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike at right, rendered in intaglio against a guilloche underprint in mauve and green tones. The bank title appears in Sinhala, Tamil, and English across the top, with the denomination stated in all three languages at the lower centre and lower right. A circular floral vignette occupies the centre field, flanked by the date and facsimile signatures below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A panoramic intaglio vignette of a hillside tea plantation occupies the central field, with rolling terraced slopes, workers, and distant mountains rendered in fine line engraving. The bank title appears in Sinhala and Tamil at the top, with the English inscription to the right, and the denomination is repeated in all three languages along the lower margin. Guilloche borders frame the design on all sides in mauve and green. |
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| Comments |
Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka on 22 May 1972, which is precisely why this series exists — the issuing authority's name on earlier notes was rendered obsolete overnight, even though the Central Bank itself continued unchanged. The 1974 date variant is particularly interesting given that a full redesign under the Sri Lanka branding was already in preparation, making this one of the last issues to carry the Ceylon designation before it was retired permanently.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series at New Malden throughout, maintaining continuity from earlier Ceylon issues. William Tennekoon served as Governor across both signature dates, an unusual span of institutional stability for the period.