Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka (commonly known as the Currency museum or Money museum) is located in the Central Point building, 54 Chatham Street,
Colombo Fort (the head office of
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; ), known until 1985 as the Central Bank of Ceylon, is the central bank of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA) and in terms of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ac ...
).
Building
Construction of the building commenced in 1911, with the laying of its foundation stone. The National Mutual Building was opened in 1914, as the Colombo head office of a global insurance company,
National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited. At the time of its opening it was the tallest building in Colombo.
It was designed in a
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...
architectural style, with a colonnade of
Corinthian columns
The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
at the building's entrance. It has a circular glass dome with a tapering central
atrium that lets light into the circular inner halls throughout all seven floors and features the tallest chandelier in Asia.
The building was extensively damaged in the 1996 attack by the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...
on the
Colombo Central Bank.
[
In 2011 the building was acquired by the ]Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; ), known until 1985 as the Central Bank of Ceylon, is the central bank of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA) and in terms of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ac ...
(CBSL), who undertook extensive renovations and refurbishment, in order to house the museum. The Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka was formally opened in 2013. The CSBL also renamed the building to the Central Point building, reflecting its central location within Colombo.[
]
Museum
The museum has a collection of currency which date back to the 3rd century BC. It includes coins from the Anuradhapura era (3 BC to 107 AD), Polonnaruwa to Kotte Kingdoms era (1017 AD - 1597 AD), coins used during the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial eras through to the modern era and commemorative coins and notes.
Other banking museums
National Savings Bank, Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and Hatton National Bank also have their small museums in Colombo.
See also
* List of museums in Sri Lanka
References
External links
Taking count of ancient coins
{{Colombo fort, state=collapsed
Museums in Colombo
Numismatic museums in Asia
Currencies of Sri Lanka
Economic history of Sri Lanka