Item: i111257

Authentic Coin of:

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) under Elizabeth II (Ruled 1952 – Present)
2500th Anniversary of Buddhism
1957 Silver 5 Rupees 38mm (28.18 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.8404 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 126
2500, Buddhist Moonstone motif.
*FIVE RUPEES *ශ්‍රීලංකා ** රැපියල් පහයි බුහ ටඨනකි, Ornate design.

Coin Notes:
These coins are popularly referred to as the Buddha Jayanthi coins.  Obverse motif is an adaptation from the Anuradhapura Moonstone. The numeral 2500 at the centre with Flower petals around in inner annulus, next a procession of elephant, horse, lion and bull (2 sequences). next a procession of sixteen geese, with lotus flowers hanging from their beaks.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.  

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is, and has been since her accession in 1952, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth. She is also Queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession: Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Elizabeth was born in London to the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and was the elder of their two daughters. She was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during World War II, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

Elizabeth’s many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and reciprocal visits to and from the Pope. She has seen major constitutional changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa. She has also reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms. She is the world’s oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain’s longest-lived. In 2015, she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history.

Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, her coronation in 1953, and the celebration of milestones such as her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. Moments of sadness for her include the death of her father, aged 56; the assassination of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten; the breakdown of her children’s marriages in 1992 (her annus horribilis); the death in 1997 of her son’s former wife, Diana, Princess of Wales; and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and severe press criticism of the royal family, but support for the monarchy and her personal popularity remain high.

Sri  Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,  is an island country in South Asia near south-east India . Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri  Lanka’s documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic  human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location  and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the  ancient Silk Road through to World War II . Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon. Sri Lanka’s recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri  Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.

A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions,  ethnic groups, and languages. In addition to the majority Sinhalese , it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils , Moors , Burghers , Malays , Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda . Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage,  and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon , dates back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system . The legislative capital , Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte , is a suburb of the  commercial capital and largest city, Colombo .

Sri Lanka has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding  member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation   (SAARC), and a member of the United Nations , the Commonwealth of Nations , the G77 , and the Non-Aligned Movement . Along with the Maldives,  Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are currently rated  among high human development on the Human Development Index .