Ceylon was a British crown colony that existed from 1815 to 1948. It was an island situated in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the Arabian Sea and southwest of the Bay of Bengal. Ceylon gained independence in 1948. Ceylon changed its name in 1972 to Sri Lanka.
The Central Bank of Ceylon was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law of 1949.
British coins circulated in Ceylon until 1963. The first coin series was introduced in 1963. The denominations included in the series were 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, and 1 rupee. The 1- and 2-cent coins were made of aluminum. The 5- and 10-cent coins were made of brass, while the remaining denominations were made of copper-nickel. The coins featured the emblem of Ceylon on the obverse.
