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| Click image to see Note Security under UltraViolet illumination Front: Landscape An artist's impression of WORLD TRADE CENTRE AND BANK OF CEYLON HEADQUARTERS in the city of Colombo and a view of the ancient Buddhist temple Lankathilaka Viharaya at Kandy to upper right. Illustrated are the Sri Lanka bird Emerald Collared Parakeet (Layard's Parakeet) to the right, and the butterfly, Ceylon Indigo Royal to the lower left. Sri Lankan Lion with sword facing left at upper right. |
ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව
in Sinhala,
இலங்கை மத்திய வங்கி in Thamil
and CENTRAL BANK OF SRI LANKA in English, in 3 lines, of decreasing font size at center upper left.
Latent image: Right of the top left numeric on front, the
Numeric value 500 written italic with horizontal lines
on a vertical lines background, both slightly tilted clockwise, as
seen on this 1200 dpi scan on right.
Image also show microprinting array of text CBSL.
| Predominant Color | : Purple | | | Size | : 143 x 67 mm |
| Serial Prefix | : T | | | Replacement Prefix | : Z/5,Z/40 |
| Florescent Fiber | : Yellow | | | Braille | : Four Dots |
Front Landscape both old and New, with endemic Bird and Butterfly
designed by by Artist Mr Kelum Gunasekara.
Back portrait of traditional Sri Lankan drummer and a dancer
designed by Artist Sisira Liyanaarachchi.
| Date on BankNote | Finance Minister | CBSL Governor | First Serial # | Last Serial # | Mintage in K | Replacement Prefix |
| 2010-01-01 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | Ajith Nivard Cabraal | T/1 000K | T/55 1000K | 50,000 | Z/5 |
| 2010-01-01 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | Ajith Nivard Cabraal | T/56 000K | T/115 1000K | 60,000 | Z/5 |
| 2015-02-04 | Ravi Karunanayake | A. Mahendran | T/116 000K | T/130 1000K | 15,000 | Z/5 |
| 2016-07-04 | Ravi Karunanayake | I. Coomaraswamy | T/131 000K | T/185 1000K | 55,000 | Z/40 |
| 2016-07-04 | Ravi Karunanayake | I. Coomaraswamy | T/186 000K | T/207 778K | 20,000 | SNIM-8.9% |
| 2017-05-22 | Mangala Samaraweera | I. Coomaraswamy | T/207 779K | T/268 279K | 55,000 | SNIM-10% |
| 2019-01-28 | Mangala Samaraweera | I. Coomaraswamy | T/268 280K | T/323 279K | 50,000 | SNIM-10% |
| 2020-08-12 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | W. D. Lakshman | T/323 280K | T/334 530K | 10,000 | SNIM-12.5% |
| 2021-09-15 | Basil Rajapaksa | Ajith Nivard Cabraal | T/334 531K | T/366 705K | 31,100 | SNIM-3.5% |
| 2022-07-04 | Ranil Wickremesinghe | Nandalal Weerasinghe | T/367 000K | T/398 836K | 30,000 | SNIM-6.1% |
UV cured Post Print Varnish (UVPPV) coating was applied on Rs. 500/- currency notes after 2016 from T/131 onwards and these notes are slightly thicker. (Reply to CBSL RTI 0122/2024)
With or without the use of Replacement the First and Last serial is not known to the last digit as it could be a replacement or rejected. It is given to the First or last Brick (1000 or K notes)
From T/186 SNIM (Single Note Inspection Machine) was used. Error notes removed, but not replaced with Z serial Replacements. Packs have missing serial numbers.
Please Help Track Prefix+Serial when Date on Banknote change. Thanks.
Mintage of 20M, 55M and 50M notes stated in reply to RTI 0001/2020 is 1.78M(8.9%), 5.5M(10%) and 5M(10%) less than the difference of Last - First Serial for these issues. The increase of error rate from 0.2-0.3% replacements to about 10% missing serial numbers with the adoption of SNIM by DeLaRue is explained by more stringent quality control, but mainly because, printed sheets are not quality checked before printing Serials.
Reply to RTI 0078/2021 states than no Rs500 banknotes were printed dated 2019-12-24 with MR+WDL Signatures.
The note scanned at 300 dpi and displayed above at 50 dpi
World Trade Center
World Trade Center, Colombo is an international business complex
complementing and supporting the existing services of private and
government agencies. It accounts for being the tallest completed
building in Sri Lanka. The building consists of two identical 40-
storeyed towers connected by a 4 storey retail block.
Lankathilaka Viharaya
Lankatilaka Viharaya is a Buddhist temple first built by King
Prakramabahu I, and later restored by King Vijayabahu IV. It was once
a five-storeyed high temple and decorated with flowers, creepers,
animals, birds and statues of deities. It has a peculiar architectural
design. The exterior walls are ornamented with delicate sculpture,
which depict various building of the Polonnaruwa era.
Sri Lanka Emerald Collared Parakeet (Layard's Parakeet) - Psittacula calthropae
Sri Lanka Alu Girava (Sinhala)
Ilangai Naattu Kili (Thamil)
Layard's Parakeet is an endemic resident ot Sri Lanka. This bird is
renamed as Sri Lanka Emerald-collared Parakeet since 2008. It is
common in forests, gardens, mainly in high country and forested humid
areas of low country. It is a green parakeet 30 cm long including the
tail up to 13 cm, with a bluish-grey head and back, separated by a
green collar.
The Ceylon Indigo Royal - Tajuria arida
Hela Neela Paramaya (Sinhala)
The Ceylon Indigo Royal is endemic to Sri Lanka and is found in the
low country wet zone. Wings of the male are dull frosted greyish blue
in colour. This species is categorized as critically endangered by the
IUCN.
Padmanidhi Guard Stone
The dwarf figures known as yaksas or bahirawas were used
in place of the Pot of Plenty. These figures represent two
yaksas vested with the responsibility of protecting the wealth
of god Kuvera that is said to be stored in the ocean. The
headdresses of the yaksa figures of some guard stones had been
designed in the shape of Sankha (conch) or Padma
(lotus). These sculptures were used with the belief that they provide
protection to the building. The best examples of Padma guard
stone are at Abhayagiri stupa at Anuradhapura and at the entrance to
the palace of Vijayabahu I.
Dvithva Liya vela
Traditional Sinhalese art has a floral motifs depicted with two
similar creepers called Dvithva liya vela. These flower bands are
combined or run parallel to each other in a regular pattern.
Thelme Netuma
Thelme Netuma (Thelme Dance) belongs to the ritual of Devol
Maduwa, which is performed to propitiate a deity known as
Devol. The Theirne Netuma is a pure rhythmical and
classical dance form of Sri Lanka Low Country dances. The main drum
used is the Yak Beraya.
Yak Beraya
Yak Beraya (Ruhunu Beraya, Devol Beraya
or Pahatharata Beraya) is the traditional drum which accompanies Sri
Lanka Low Country dances. This instrument is a long cylindrical drum
and is played with both hands.
Text edited from Press Releases of the CBSL.
For collected details of the images on this Banknote see
NotesCollector.