1990 - Sri Lanka - 500 Rupee
Central Bank of Sri Lanka - 40th Anniversary
Frosted Proof

A commemorative five hundred rupee crown-sized frosted Proof silver coin sold by the Royal Mint and issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka August 1990 to VIPS at it's 40th Anniversary.
SPECIFICATIONS
DenominationRupees 500/-
AlloySilver (925. Ag)
Diameter38.6 mm
Thickness2.9 mm
Weight28.28 gms
ShapeRound
EdgeGrained
Die-Axis
Proof 200+2000
MintRoyal,Wales
1990_Rs500_obverse 1990_Rs500_reverse
KM# 150

Obverse : The logo of the Central Bank with a lion with nine spots on body, with sword in right paw facing left in plain circle. Around the name of Bank ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව in Sinhala above, இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி in Thamil on left, and CENTRAL BANK OF SRI LANKA on right within a circle of petals. The legend හතළිස්වැනි සංවත්සරය in Sinhala, on top, நாற்பதாவது ஆண்டுநிறைவு in Thamil, on the left, and FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY on the right. The period 1950 - 1990 appears below. All within a circle of dots along the periphery with raised rim.
Reverse : A image of the older Central Bank building with three towers in the center On top large numeral denomination 500 with රුපියල් පන්සියයයි in Sinhala, and ஐந்நூறு ரூபாய் in Thamil, and FIVE HUNDRED RUPEES below. The country name ශ්‍රී ලංකා in Sinhala, centered at bottom, இலங்கை in Thamil on left and SRI LANKA on Right. All within a circle of dots along the periphery with raised rim.

The coin was modelled by Ian Rank-Broadley and struck to the highest Proof standard at the Royal Mint, Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan CF72 8YT, Wales, United Kingdom.

The frosted Proof coin enclosed in a circular coin case is embedded in black velvet inside a Red leatherette 7.6cm square spring hinged box with a plain gold 6 cm square printed on top. The Emblem of the Royal Mint is printed in black on the white satin in the inside cover. An information sheet contains the specifications and the text in English. They were not issued to the public in Lanka, but Two hundred were given to dignitaries at the anniversary celebrations. Authorised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka the additional 2000 were sold directly by the Royal Mint for US$60 to collectors abroad.

This CBSL 40th Anniv frosted proof coin is NOT on display at the CBSL Currency Museum.

Released to public in Lanka was a Brillent Uncirculated coin

The coin was scaned at 600 dpi and the images are displayed at 254 dpi. I purchased a Frosted Proof in original Royal Mint Box in 2002 March on ebay from a dealer in US. Another was listed soon after by Eddie Smith of England who provided me the information about the sale by the RoyalMint.
Some of the Proof coins which remained unsold by the RoyalMint may have been sent to CBSL. I did understand from a converstion at CentralBank counter that some of this coin with red box had been issued by the CBSL few years ago. a hoard of 10 Frosted Proof CBSL 40th Anniv. coins without boxes appeared in the local Numismatic market, with 10 BU CBSL 40th Anniv. coins.