New coins out soon

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka will issue for circulation a new series of coins in the denominations of Rs. 5, Rs. 2, Re. 1, cents 50 and cents 25 shortly.
 

The Rs. 5 coin is made of brass plated steel. It weights 7.70 gms and the diameter is 23.5 mm. It is yellow and the edge is milled with the legend CBSL in Sinhala, Tamil and English versions in infused lettering, all coins are round.

The Rs. 2 coin is nickel plated steel. It weights 7.0 gms and the diameter is 28.5 mm. It is white and the edge is milled.

The Re. 1 coin is brass plated steel. It weights 3.65 gms and the diameter 20.0 mm. It is yellow and the edge is alternate plain and milled.

The copper plated steel cts 50 coin is 2.5 gms in weight. Its diameter is 18.0 mm and red. The edge is milled.

The Cts.25 coin is copper plated steel. It is 1.68 gms in weight and the diameter is 16.0 mm. It is red and the edge is plain. Obverse and reverse designs of above new coins are identical to the existing circulation coins of same denominations. The year of the coins appears as 2005.

The size and colour of new Rs. 5 and Rs. 2 coins remain unchanged while the weight and alloy have changed. Re. 1, Cts. 50 and Cts. 25 coins are smaller than the existing coins of similar denominations and minted in different alloys and colours for easy identification purposes. The new coins will be circulated along with the existing coins in circulation.

Fifty million pieces of the Rs. 5 coin has been minted, Assistant to Central Bank Governor Rose Cooray said.

The new coins can also be used at SLT and Tritel phone booths. The minting of new coins will save the Government Rs. 600 million.