GUIDE TO THE COLOMBO MFSEX7M. 183 



currency of the Dutch was minted m Europe. They consist of a 

 few gold ducats, ducatoons, half-ducatoons, ten-, six-, two-, and 

 one-stuiver pieces in silver, and duits and haK-duits in copper. These 

 last show on the obverse the monogram " V. 0. C. " (Vereenighte Oost 

 Indische Compagnie — United East India Company), and on the 

 reverse the arms of the State by which they were issued, namely, 

 Holland, Zealand, Finland, Gelderland, Utrecht, &c. A series 

 of coarsely executed two-stuiver and one-stuiver copper pieces and 

 a few leaden duits were issued locally, the handiwork of the native 

 smiths ; the metal was greatly debased, and the currency in a state 

 of confusion. A paper currency of six denominations, the highest 

 being ten rix -dollars, was issued in 1796, in which year the Dutch 

 Settlements were ceded to the British. 



Perhaps the most curious of their coins was the heavy ingot, 

 weighing 913*75 grains, and stamped at either end, which is shown in 

 the illustration. The local issue usually bears the initial letter of the 

 place of issue, viz., Colombo, Galle, Trmcomalee, and Jaffna. 



The first issue of the English coins, which was in silver and copper, 

 was a slight improvement on the thick Dutch coins, and showed an 

 elephant on the obverse and the legend " Ceylon Government " 

 with the value on the reverse. Fresh types on the European 

 model were issued in 1802 and 1815, both issues being struck in 

 England ; a silver fanam, f inch in diameter, was issued in 1820 

 and a silver rix-doUar in 1821. 



The present currency consists of the silver rupee and its decimal 

 fractions, the cent being in copper and the five-cent piece in nickel. 

 There is a paper currency, of which the highest denomination is 

 Rs. 1,000. The sovereign is also legal currency at R.s. 15. 



Among the foreign coins found in the country are the Chinese, 

 and, as might be expected, a vast variety of Indian issues. Among 

 the rarest are those bearing the fish device of the Pandiyans, 

 the tiger of the Cholians, the hon of the Cheras, or the bull of the 

 Setu Pathis of Ramnad. The beautiful Venetian sequins are still 

 met with, but as they are in great demand among silversmiths for 

 the high quaUty of the gold, their number is rapidly decreasing. 

 Along with the coins are exhibited some oblong copper plaques of 

 great antiquity, showing the figure of a man (see Plate XXXIII.). 

 Their use is still a matter of conjecture. 



For further information on Ceylon coins see Professor Rhys 

 Davids in the Numismata Orientaha, Van der Chiys de Munten van 

 der Nederlandsche Indie, and Descripgao Geral e Historica das 

 Moedas Cunhadas, por A. C, Teixeira de Aragao. 



Case 43. 



Man in all ages and in all countries has ever craved for a stimulant 

 or a sedative, and with the Sinhalese the stimulant took the form of 

 the leaf of the betel vine ; this is chewed with a few shces of the 

 arecanut and a little lime. Case 43 contains an exhibit of the various 

 articles used in connection with this dainty. Perhaps the most 

 striking of these are the large bags of handsome embroidery, almost 

 a lost art among the Sinhalese, which used to be carried filled with 

 the leaf and slung over the back of an attendant when on long 

 journeys. Then follow the metal chunam boxes for Jiolding the 

 Ume, varying in size from the copper box ten inches across to the 



