Did the Central Bank of SL release A Rs.1000 coin for public circulation?

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp සමුහයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

Claims are viral on social media, implying that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka released Rs.1000 coins for public circulation. In a sarcastic manner, these posts suggest that the value of the rupee has depreciated so much, and that’s why the coins of such high value are being released to the market.

However, the Factcrescendo investigation found that the SL Central Bank had indeed recently released an Rs. 1000/- coin, yet you cannot use this for daily transactions!

Social Media Posts

Below is a Facebook post that suggests that the SL Rupee is highly depreciated to the level that the Sri Lankan government had to release an Rs.1000 coin.

Facebook | Archived

These posts were viral, especially in the Sinhala language, and we decided to find out the facts behind the claim and the image.

Fact Check

In the first week of February 2023, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka did, in fact, issue a 1000 Rupee coin. However, this was only a commemorative coin released parallel to the 75th Independence Day celebrations of Sri Lanka.

1000 Rupee Commemorative Coin cannot be used for Circulation.

This 1000 rupee coin was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the President's Palace in Kandy by the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe. You can read the announcement that the Central Bank had included details about this thousand rupees commemorative coin here.

The Central Bank had announced a limited quantity (2,500 pieces) of these thousand-rupee commemorative coins. If one is interested, these can be obtained as souvenirs by paying Rs. 6000 per coin from the Museum of Economics at Chatham Street. Details about It can be read here.

Here is an instance where a person had obtained a 100 Rupee commemorative coin and posted it to social media. The image currently going viral is one such instance.

Several High Valued Commemorative Coins were also issued in the past as well!

And this is certainly not the first time a high-valued coin has been issued in Sri Lanka. Similar coins, including Rs. 1000, 1500, 2000, 5000, etc., have been published earlier as well for various commemorative purposes, and none of such coins could be used for general use/public circulation.

CBSL website explains the two main types of commemorative notes/coins: Circulation standard commemorative coins & Un-circulation standard commemorative coins.

The Un-Circulation Standard Commemorative Coins have been issued in various types such as Frosted Proof, Brilliant Uncirculated, Multicolor & Selective Plated. More details about this can be taken here. Archived.

Incidentally, as per the CBSL website, the Un-Circulation Standard Commemorative Coin, bearing the value of Rs.1000, is the most commonly released commemorative coin, issued in conjunction with as many as 13 special occasions before the most recent incident of 75th Independence Day celebrations.

In fact, 25 years ago, during the golden jubilee celebrations of Sri Lanka also, the Central Bank issued a similar 1000 Rupee commemorative coin. A few other occasions of releasing such 1000 Rupee coins were, winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi, etc.

Misleading claims using photos of commemorative coins have been viral among Sri Lanka users several times before as well, and here is our fact check in the n Sinhala language in this regard. Click here for a Tamil language fact check.

According to the Monetary Law Act No. 58 of 1949, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has the authority to issue currency notes and coins, which are to be used for circulation in Sri Lanka. The current coins that can be used for circulation are Rs.20, Rs.10, Rs.05, Rs.02, and Rs.01.

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Conclusion

According to our investigation, it’s clear that an image of an Rs.1000 commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to commemorate the 75th Independence Day in February 2023 is being shared with misleading narratives. This Frosted Proof type, Un-Circulation Standard Commemorative Coin, issued in limited numbers, cannot be used for public circulation. CBSL has issued many such high-valued commemorative coins in the past as well to mark significant occasions.