Museum of Money at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

The Central Bank Money Museum can compete with the historical museum with its collections, because it is in the coins of its kingdoms that the history of Sri Lanka is reflected. Here you can trace all the stages of development of the country from colonial times, when the territory was under the rule of Portugal, and then Holland and Britain, to the present day. The museum’s collections are recognized as the oldest in the region.

The museum was established in April 1982 to house the country’s complete collection of numismatics. But over time, the exhibits became more and more, they covered more extensive time periods and the collection was divided into four thematic exhibitions: “Ancient Period”, “Middle Age”, “Colonial Period” and “Independence Period since the establishment of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka”.

In the first two, you can find the oldest coins in circulation in Sri Lanka. They were called Kahapana and date back to the third century BC. They were of a variety of shapes and were made mainly of silver. The kahavanu gold coins did not appear on the island until four centuries later. The first foreign coins appeared with the development of navigation and trade. In Sri Lanka, many coins of Greek, Indo-Greek, Roman, Chinese and Arab origin have been found.