Rare Coins from Ceylon in the Collection of Jan Lingen

A web display of high resolution color images of rare colonial coins from Ceylon from the personal collection of Jan Lingen of Netherlands with edited information from various sources.

Medieval Period

Anonymous Lanka type gold Kahavanu and fractions.

  * Type I Vase ada kahavanu coin
  * Type I Full Vase Pala coin
  * Type I Fill Vase aka coin
  * Type II Lotus & Adahanda aka coin

Colonial Period

The Portuguese Period 1505 to 1658 : Coins of Ceilao.

  * 1521 - 1557 Copper - Eighth Bazaruco - Cross coin
  * 1521 - 1557 Copper - Quarter Bazaruco - Cross + Globe coin
  * 1580 - 1598 Copper - Quarter Bazaruco - Cross_L coin

  * 1598 - 1621 Silver - Tanga coin
  * 1619 - 1630 Silver - Tanga - S L coin
  * 1619 - 1630 Silver - Tanga coin
  * 1631 - . . . .   Silver - Tanga -S L coin
  * 1640 - . . . .   Silver - Tanga - C Lº coin
  * 1642 - 1647 Silver - Tanga - D S coin

  * 1621 - 1640 Tutenag - Bazaruco - S:LOVRENCO coin

  * 1641 - 1655 Silver - Double Tanga - S I coin
  * 1642 - 1649 Silver - Double Tanga - D S coin

The Portuguese coins countermarked in Dutch Period. 1639 to 1691

  * 1655 - 1660 Galle CounterMark - Silver Tanga coin
  * 1655 - 1660 Galle CounterMark - Silver double Tanga coin

  * 1658 - 1600 Jaffna R CounterMark - Silver double Tanga coin

  * 1660 - 1691 Colombo CounterMark - 4 Sháhís coin
  * 1660 - 1691 Colombo CounterMark - Abbásí of 4 Sháhís coin
  * 1660 - 1691 Colombo CounterMark - Abbásí of 5 Sháhís coin

  * 1660 - 1691 Colombo CounterMark - Chinese Cash coin

  * 1660 - 1691 Colombo CounterMark - Surat Rupee coin

The Dutch Period. 1639 to 1796 : Coins of Ceylan.

  * 1644 - Batavia VOC 1/4 Stuiver copper cast coin

  * 1646 - 1674 - Paliakate VOC V kas copper dump coin
  * 1646 - 1674 - Paliakate VOC X kas copper dump coin

  * 1712 - Colombo VOC 6 stuiver copper bar coin

  * 1728 - 1741 - VOC Holland Silver Rider coin

  * 1784 - Colombo Silver Rupee coin
  * 1787 - Colombo Silver Rupee coin

  * 1785 - Colombo VOC 4 3/4 stuiver copper Bonk bar coin

  * 1783 - Jaffna VOC 2 stuiver copper dump coin
  * 1793 - Jaffna VOC 2 stuiver copper dump coin

  * 1789 - Colombo VOC Duit Lead dump coin
  * 1792 - Colombo VOC Duit Lead dump coin - T counter-stamp

The Early British Stiver Period 1796 to 1824 : Coins of Ceylon

  * 1805 - Elephant 48 stiver silver dump coin

  * 1809 - Elephant 96 stiver silver dump coin


I thank Jan Lingen for contributing in 2001 July, the beautiful scans of his rare coins from Ceylon to fill in images for the coins missing from the LakdivaCoins Collection.

Even if I was lucky to find any for sale it is very unlikely that LakdivaCoins could afford to buy most of these rarest of Lankan coins from the early Colonial Era.


The pages linked above with Portuguese Period and Dutch Countermarked coins still need some cosmetic clean up including rotation of coin images to be upright.