Patterns of Ceylon BankNotes
1942-1972

By Dr Kavan Ratnatunga

(IBNS:12165-R)

While essays are Banknote designs that were not used on issued currency notes, are printed uniface or with Dummy signatures, Patterns are Specimens that have been printed as a banknote with facsimile signatures, but were never issued as currency for different reasons.

Ceylon Private Banknotes were not Specialised issues and were the only legal tender in Ceylon from 1856 to 1884. In 2024 June, Owen W. Linzmayer, Editor The Banknote Book, undertook a major upgrade to incorporated them into the Ceylon Volume of the BanknoteBook based on the information I had compiled in my notes.lakdiva.org website.

Owen decided to retain few essays and Patterns in the Banknote book and to make it consistent I asked him to add the others that meet the same criterion and I separated them out as essays and Patterns in my website.

Few interesting observation from some of these patterns.

The Government of Ceylon

GC Promise to Pay 1941-02-01 CNP Rs1000 C - GoC King George VI Pictorial pattern
GC Legal Tender 1942-06-01 CGP 5 Cents C - GoC KGVI 2c+3c Stamps pattern 1942-07-14 CNP 25 Cent C - GoC King George VI pattern 1946-05-07 CNP Rs10,000 C - GoC King George VI pattern

Central Bank of Ceylon
1951-01-20 BWCL Rs2-Rs100 C - CBC KGVI Final patterns
Republic of Sri Lanka 1972-05-22 BWCL Rs2-Rs10 C - CBC Mrs SirimavoB patterns C Both sides printed as an unissued currency note essay

If you have any unlisted patterns from Ceylon or images of parts of Auction lots for which images have not been posted online, or images of higher resolution please contribute to kavanr @ gmail.com 1942_2s_05c_p.html 1942_gvi_p_25c.html 1946-5-7_gvi_p_10000r.html 1951-1-20_BWCL_p.html 1972-5-22_BWCL_p.html index.html