500 Rupees

Thomas De La Rue had printed Sri Lanka's higher denominations continuously since the early post-independence period, and this 500 Rupee note falls within a transitional window in the series — issued across two calendar years as the Central Bank managed stock levels ahead of a redesign cycle. The 500 Rupee face value was, at the time of issue, a meaningful denomination in daily commerce, not merely a large-value reserve note, which explains the relatively heavy wear seen on surviving circulated examples.

The security thread used in this series is a simple windowed metallic type, predating the more sophisticated holographic threads De La Rue introduced into South Asian contracts later in the decade.