History of money in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a country with a long history and a similarly long and strong economic history. Coins used through different time periods of a country play an important role when studying the history of our country. Although small in size, a coin has the ability to give a lot of information about the economic and cultural history of the country where it was used, through signs that remain on them.

 

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 Coin 

 

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.

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 kinds were 1 ¼ inch in length and ½ inch in width. The coins are a mixture of approximately 60 percent Lead and 15 percent Copper.

Kahavanu

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.

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’.

 

Duits

 

The coin that was most commonly used in transactions of the Dutch 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. 

Rupee &  Cents

 

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 cents, ten cents, twenty-five –cent and fifty –cent coins were also used as units that had values less than the Rupee.