History
of the Currency of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s currency-use can be divided into following periods.
1.
Anuradhapura Era
2.
Polonnaruwa to Kotte Era
3.
Kandy Era
4.
Colonial Era
1.
Coins used in Anuradhapura Era
·
Kahapana
The
earliest unit of currency known in the island is referred to as a Kahapana.
They are called puranas in Sanskrit and eldings in English. They are commonly
known as punch marked coins, due to the marks or symbols that had been struck
either on one side or both sides of the coin. Kahapanas are reckoned to have
been produced by cutting strips of metal from hammered sheets. The known coins
have been of many shapes, such as round, square, rectangular or oblong. Their
weight had been adjusted by clipping the corners. The metal of the Kahapana has
been found mostly to be silver.
·
Swastika coins
Apart
from the ‘Kahapana’ coin with its many markings, other types of coins were also
used during the Anuradhapura era. The tusker and swastika coin is one such
type. It is a small Copper coin. A chosen few markings that occasionally
appeared on the ‘Kahapana’ were added in the making of this particular coin.
·
Maneless Lion coins
This
is a Copper coin. On one side, there is an image of a lion. On the other side,
there are three or sometimes four dots. It is likely that these dots indicate
the value of the coin. The diameter of this coin is between ½ - ¾ inches and it
weighs between 15-40 grains.
·
Lakshmi Plaques
Coins
with a female figure carved into the face were first circulated in Sri Lanka as
early as 3 B.C - 8 A.D. It is believed that the woman on the coin is the
goddess Lakshmi. Because of this, the coin is known as the ‘Lakshmi
Thahadu (metal sheet)’. These coins were produced in two ways: the coins were
either plated or engraved pieces of Copper. They also came in different sizes.
The plated kind were 1 ¼ inches in length and ½ inch in width. The coins
are a mixture of approximately 60 percent Lead and 15 percent Copper.
·
Kahavanu or Lankeshvara coin
A Sinhalese gold
coinage known as the 'Kahavanu" had been in circulation in the island from
about the 7th to 8th centuries AD. These coins were either gold or
gold-plated. They were distinguishable in terms of value as
‘Kahawanu’, ‘Ada Kahawanu’, ‘De Aka’ and ‘Aka’. On the face of the coin
there is a human figure standing on a lotus stem. The figure appears
to be clad in something similar to a ‘Dhothi’. The figure’s
upturned left hand is holding an object against his tilted face. Some
believe that the figure is ‘Kuwera’ the God of Wealth. There is
a conch and Lotus flower on the flipside of the coin.
·
Foreign Coins
Clear
proof that Sri Lanka was a functioning naval base in the past comes
from the foreign coins used during the Anuradhapura era. A great
number of Greek, Roman, Chinese, Arabic and Indian coins used in
international trade were found in Anuradhapura, Mihintale, Sigiriya,
Kurunegala, Matara, Akurugoda and Badulla.
2.
Coins used in Polonnaruwa to Kotte Era
·
Massa Coins
King Vijayabahu I who
was responsible for toppling of the Chola dynasty, uniting the country and the
inception of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom; also produced ‘Kahawanu’. He added
his name to the face of the coin. Thus he is the first Sinhalese King to
have had his name engraved on coins that were issued during his
reign. This coin was known as ‘Massa’.
·
Dambadeni Coins / Coins of the Middle
Ages
The golden ‘Kahawanu’
was a product of the last stages of the Anuradhapura era. The ‘Kahawanu’
entered the Polonnaruwa era in the form of a Copper coin. Nonetheless, coins
that were used from the beginning of the Polonnaruwa era to the Dambadeni
era are identified as the ‘coins of middle ages’ or Dambadeni. The
‘Dambadeni Massa’ coin is in fact the same as the Massa minted in the
Polonnaruwa era. It is also known as the ‘Sinhala Massa’.
·
Lion Coins
A special feature can
be observed on coins bearing the name of King Parakramabahu VI (1412 – 1467
AD). To specify, there is an image of a lion to the right of the human figure
that appears on the face of the coin. These coins are known as ‘Lion coins’.
This particular type of coin is the last of the ones bearing the names of the
rulers.
·
Cetu Coins
The Cetu was issued in the 13th century under the rule of king
Aryachakravarthi who ruled in Jaffna. This coin is a close imitation of the
Dambadeni Massa. There is an image of a cow on one side and a standing figure
(similar to that on the Dambadeni Massa) on the other. This coin is made of
Copper. Majority of these coins were discovered in areas such as Nalloor,
Thinnaveli, Kopai, Sandilippai, Sunthoor, Nagarkovil and Maamkulam.
3.
Coins used in Kandy Era
·
Angutu Massa/Koku Coins/
Laarin
·
Dambadeni kasi
·
Salli
·
Indian ‘Waragama’
·
Tuttu
·
Panama
·
Tangama
In the 10th century, a gold coin known as ‘Masuran’ was used in
transactions. Because gold is a rare and precious metal, the ‘Masuran’
gradually went out of use.
Therefore
by the 13th century, the term ‘Masuran’ referred instead to a type of copper
coin.
By the end of the
16th century, two types of Silver coins ‘Ridi (Massa)’ and ‘Panama’ came
into use. But by this time, the gold coins ‘Ran Panam’ and ‘Ran massa’
were somewhat already in use. Later the ‘Thangam Massa’, ‘Podi (small)
Thangama’, ‘Ridiya’ came in to use. In the 18th century, the Indian
‘Waragama’ was utilized in Sri Lanka.
Around the same time, the copper coin ‘Salli’ was also used
for transactions. One ‘Ridiya’ was worth 64 ‘Salli’ coins. Another contemporary
coin was the Dutch ‘Stuiver’ which was used in the Hill Country
Kingdom. The people of Sinhale called these coins ‘Thuttu’. Source: “Udarata
Maha Keralla” – Professor Tennakon Wimalananda.
In
addition, a large variety of coins such as Larin, Dambadeni coins and Thangama
were in use during the Kandy era.
Angutu
Massa coin was in use during the Kandy and Kotte periods and had a silver
finish. It is believed that these hook-shaped coins were brought to Sri Lanka
by vendors from Persia. These Persian coins were also known as “Laarin”.
Records of Robert Knox’s experiences in Sri Lanka mention that these coins were
minted and circulated by Kings of the Kandy era.
4.
Colonial Era
Even though
we divided Sri Lanka’s past into eras such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and
Kandy; in all those eras, the entirety of Sri Lanka was never governed by one
King. In different instances, the island was invaded by foreign powers.
However, until the Kotte Era, the only invaders were the Chola. Despite such
instabilities, we were able to make profits through international trade (via
the Silk Road), win praise and maintain our splendid international reputation.
But in 1453 A.D, the situation changed as a consequence of the fall of
Constantinople (Capital of the Byzantine Empire). Europeans began to seek a
route to the East over the great ocean. Eventually, the Europeans were
victorious in the East and the West. As a result, Sri Lanka was colonized by
the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English respectively.
Coins used in
Portuguese Period
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Saint type coins (St.
Thome) - Gold
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Tanga
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Malakka - Silver
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Cruzado
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Ginimassa -
Silver
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Cakram
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Panam (Gold/Silver)
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Laarins
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Gold Pagodi
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Malacca
The
Portugal Coat of Arms appears on one side of the Malacca coin. On either side
of the seal the letters AM, MA or DM can be seen. AM is the abbreviation for
Asian Malacca. Similarly, MA and DM are abbreviations for Malacca and De
Malacca respectively. To indicate that it is Thangam;, the letters A and T
appear superimposed on the flipside of the coin. On the same side, the year of
production is also stated.
The
Portuguese minted some of these coins in Goa specifically to be used in Sri
Lanka. These particular coins have the Portuguese Coat of Arms flanked by the
letters GA on one side and the letters DS (superimposed) on the opposite side.
DS is an abbreviation for ‘De Seylao’ which was the term used for Sri Lanka.
Gini Massa
The coin
‘Gini Maessa’ is commonly known as ‘Gini Massa’. There is an inscription of a
gridiron on its flipside. Therefore this coin should be known as “Gini
Maessa” which means gridiron in Sinhala. The Portuguese landed on this island
in 1505 A.D. Before their immediate departure, they had a small fortress
constructed
in Colombo in the name of Saint Lawrence. He had departed this life while
burning on a gridiron. Therefore Gini Maessa coins were minted and issued
in memory of his final moments. It is possible that this was the
first commemorative coin issued by people of the West in Sri
Lanka. Gini Maessa coins were issued as Thangama coins in 1640 and Dvi
Thangama coins in 1645.
Coins of Saints
This
series of coins bear the Portuguese Coat of Arms on one side (with GA imprinted
on either side) and an image of a Saint on the flipside. Letters such as ST or
SF are printed on either side of the image in order to indicate which Saint was
being portrayed on the coin. These letterings represent Saint Thomas and Saint
Filipe respectively.
Dutch
Period (1658–1796)
Coins used in Dutch Period
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Rix Dollar
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Duits
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Coins from
Zeeland
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Hollandaise coins
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Coins from
Utrecht
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Coins from West freaseland
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Coins from
Guilderland
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Stuivers
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Duits
The coin that was most commonly used in transactions of this
period is the Duit. This is a type of very small Copper coin. Due to its
size, it was very inconvenient to count large numbers of Duits during
transactions. To lessen the inconvenience, in 1737, numbers of Duits were
joined together to form strings or chains of Duits.For instance, when 8, 16
or 24 Duits were strung together they represented the values of 2,4, and 6
Thuttu respectively.
However, this measure did not prove to be as successful as
anticipated. In the 18th century, the Dutch began to mint their Thuttu coins
in Sri Lanka. In 1781, the Ductch established the first coin minting factory
and it was located near Kayman’s Gate in Colombo.
Another Dutch coin that was being used in Sri Lanka is the Rix
- Dollar. In Sinhalese, these were called Pathaga. The Rix – Dollar was a
type of Silver coin.
The Dutch also introduced the Silver
one Rupee coin to Sri Lanka. They were minted in 1781 and 1786. On the face
of the coin it said: The Colombo Dutch Company’s coin. On the Back of the
coin “Lanka Island Currency” is stated in Arabic. The year of release also
appears on the back.
The First Bank Note
Up
until the last half of Dutch Sri Lanka, only coins were used in
transactions. But in the final years of the 1700s, Dutch security
expenditure increased exponentially. The expenditure
vastly surpassed income and almost emptied the treasury. The
birth of the banknote took place against this backdrop.
So on
March 19, 1785 banknotes equivalent to 25,000 Pathaga were
authorized for printing. Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s first series
of banknotes was issued on the 10th of May, 1785. The first notes had
values equivalent to 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Pathaga. Afterwards, notes of
1,2,3,4,5,10 Pathaga were also printed. These notes contained the
signatures of three government officials.
British
Period (1796–1948)
Coins used in British Period
There are two
types of coins the English used for transactions in Sri Lanka. The first
was a gold coin minted in Madras known as ‘Tharaka Pagodi’ or
the Star Pagodi. One Star Pagodi was the equivalent of 45 Panam or
180 Thuttu. The second type of coin was a Copper one. They were minted
in England in 1794 and 1797. It was equivalent to 1/96 (gold coin)
and 1/48 (copper coin) of a Rupee. ‘United East India Company’ was
printed on one side with the year it was issued. The Royal Coat of Arms
and the value of the coin could be seen on the other side of the coin.
They also issued ½
Thuttu and ¼ Thuttu coins in 1801. On one side of these coins there was an
image of a tusker and the year it was issued. On the flipside, Ceylon
Government is engraved along the edge while the value of the coin can be seen
at the center. The value on the Thuttu is 48 and the value on the ½ Thuttu is
96. The value on the ¼ Thuttu is 192. These values illustrate the number of
each coin needed to match a Pathaga. Multiple batches of these coins were
minted between 1801 and 1804.
Like the Dutch,
the English also issued banknotes in addition to coins. The first series
was issued in 1800. Up until 1801, monetary quantities were recorded in
English publications using the Star Pagodhi system. But this method
changed after the areas under British control came under the Chief
Secretary in charge of Colonial Regions. From then on, Pathaga, Panam
and Thuttu were used in recording monetary quantities. Thus the ¼
Pagodhi became equivalent to 1 Pathaga. (1/4 Pagodhi=1 Pathaga)
From
1808 to 1818, ½, 1 and 2 Pathaga (silver) were minted occasionally and their
values appeared on the coins as 24, 48 and 96 respectively. In 1803-1817, the
copper coins Panam, Thuttu and Thuttu Deka (two Thuttu) were issued as well.
In the time of British – Sri Lanka, currencies such as
Farthing, British Thuttu, Pathaga (Silver Coin), Panam, Indian Rupee, ½ Rupee
and ¼ Rupee were in use. The cent, two -cent, five-cent, ten cent,
twenty-five –cent and fifty –cent coins were also used as units that had
values less than the Rupee.
As a
solution for colossal shortage faced in 1815, British took a large number of
Duits (worth 37,339 Pathaga) confiscated from the Dutch and re-circulated
them as their own currency.
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Half Utrecht Duit
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T Duit
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Zeelandia Duit
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