Sri Lankan currency under a different light
UV printing or images that are only visible under Ultra Violet illumination is a security feature on modern currency notes, which most never see. They are seen by bankers and shopkeepers who check currency for authenticity. Even collectors of currency notes, have not paid much attention to these features, which are rarely documented in catalogues.
A few years ago you could only see it under UV illumination, as neither photographic film nor digital cameras were sensitive enough to capture a clear image of what is seen. However some digital cameras now have the sensitivity to record what is seen.
UV printing first appeared on Sri Lanka currency in December 1971 for a new highest denomination Rs.100 note with the bust of SWRD Bandaranaike, replacing the notes of 1970 issued just after demonetization. This was the only note with UV printing issued before the Republican Constitution of May 22,1972. The corresponding Rs. 50 note was issued in December 1972.
Initially UV printing consisted of, on the front, the outline of the flag Lion with Sword in raised right paw, of different sizes and the numeric denomination. On the back, a few wide vertical bands highlighting background micro-printing on currency notes were seen.
The lower denomination of Rs. 2, Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 with the Polonnaruwa stone sculpture popularly identified as King Parakarama Bahu got UV printing only in 1974-08-27. Signatures, date and serial number, were also printed in UV. All subsequent issues numbering about 50 types in total, have had some form of UV printing.
A few Sri Lanka currency notes are however very detailed under UV illumination, where the artist has hidden a beautiful creation on the currency note. The best is the back of the Rs 10 note with Sri Lanka Flora and Fauna issued in 1979. It even has an illustration of a total solar eclipse, hardly visible under normal lighting. The short lived 1979 Flora and Fauna Issue based on a painting by artist Laki Senanayake in six denominations from Rs. 2 to Rs.100 with a total face value of Rs. 187 or US$12 at time of issue, in uncirculated condition is now worth over US$300 in the numismatic market.
The high denomination Rs. 1000 note issued in 1981 has a beautiful peacock on the back. At the time of issue, this note was worth over US$60 and remains the highest value note to be issued by the Central Bank since its inception in 1950.
Although the Rs 1000 is now worth only about US$6, I heard it referred to recently in Parliament with emphasis as the Monara note even though higher denomination notes have now been issued. This is because the Rs. 2000 dated 2005-11-02 was worth only US$20 and the Rs. 5000 dated 2010-01-01 only about US$40 when they were first issued. The peacock remained on the highest denomination note for 25 years. Maybe the Monara should be put back on any future Rs.10,000 note.
The third note is the more recent Rs. 2000 note issued in October 2006, a denomination which was discontinued, with the issue of Rs. 5000 in February 2011. The Sesatha behind the image of Sigiriya glows in multicolour, even more spectacular under UV light, than what the camera could capture.
Another feature of UV illumination is what happens to a currency note when washed by accident in a washing machine. Since the currency paper is cloth based it survives. Under UV illumination the note becomes very bright. It is a useful characteristic for collectors to check if a currency note has been washed fraudulently by a dealer who wants to make the note more attractive to sell it for a higher price. Washed notes have also been rejected by shopkeepers who check and see a note which looks very different from normal and suspect a fake.
UV images were photographed at about 300 dpi with a Cannon Power Shot SX620 HS Full HD 20.2 Mega Pixel using 3 MB (2048x1536) mounted on a tripod and a UV lightbox, mounted with two 8W 365nm wavelength 288mm long Fluorescent tubes.
A almost complete website developed by me, for Ceylon and Sri Lankan Currency since 1785, when they were first issued by the Dutch, can be found at notes.lakdiva. org,which also has UV images of all of the note types with UV printing.