THE second leg of the Army Day’s celebrations and continuing 60th Anniversary ceremonies was marked at Army Headquarters auditorium this morning (10) when the Department of Postal Services and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka released the 60th Anniversary First Day Cover and Stamp and the Silver Coin, worth Rs. 1000/= during a brief ceremony.
Release of the First Day Cover and the Stamp took place at first. The issue of the new Rs.1000/= worth 60th Anniversary Silver Coin occurred afterwards as the next item on the agenda. One more Anniversary coin, made of copper is also scheduled to be released by Central Bank of Sri Lanka on Monday (12) to coincide with Army Day celebratory events.
The Silver Coin produced encapsulating the theme, ‘Victory through Sacrifice’ carries images of War Heroes. The citation for both Coins and the New Rs.15/= worth Stamp reads as follows;
Coin 1
(1) 60th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
The SLA completes 60 years on 10.10.2009. To mark this event and to publicize the achievement of SLA in liberating the entire country from the grip of terrorism, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a silver commemorative coin.
The obverse depicts a soldier holding the National flag of Sri Lanka with one hand and his weapon with the other, and the map of Sri Lanka in the background, symbolizing the SLA safe guarding the territorial integrity of the country. The words “VICTORY THROUGH SACRIFICED” appear in Sinhala, Tamil and English around the map.
The reverse depicts the logo of the SLA in the middle and the years 1949 and 2009 appear on either side of the logo. The face value of the coin “1000” in large numerals appear below the logo with words “RUPEES” in Sinhala, Tamil and English on the right. The words “DIAMOND JUBILEE” and “SRI LANKA” in Sinhala, Tamil and English appear along the periphery of the coin. The year 2009 is depicted below the value of the coin. The Coin was designed by Kalum Gunasekara
Coin 2
60th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
The SLA completes 60 years on 10.10.2009. To mark this event and to publicize the achievement of SLA in liberating the entire country from the grip of terrorism, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a Cupro-Nickel commemorative coin.
The obverse depicts a soldier holding the National flag of Sri Lanka with one hand and his weapon with the other, and the map of Sri Lanka in the background, symbolizing the SLA safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country. The words “VICTORY THROUGH SACRIFICE” appear in Sinhala, Tamil and English around the map.
The reverse depicts the logo of the SLA in the middle and the years 1949 and 2009 appear on either side of the logo. The face value of the coin “1000” in large numerals appear below the logo with words “RUPEES” in Sinhala, Tamil and English on the right. The words “DIAMOND JUBILEE” and “SRI LANKA” in Sinhala, Tamil and English appear along the periphery of the coin. The year 2009 is depicted below the value of the coin. The Coin has been designed by Kalum Gunasekara
First Day Cover and Stamp:
Sri Lanka Army, born on 10th October 1949 marks its sixty years of age (Diamond Jubilee) on 10th October 2009 with pride and dignity following the great victory recorded with the elimination of terrorism which prevailed over three decades. The Army, in retrospect has reached its unparalleled greatness through its unfailing determination, dedication, dignity and pride right throughout its sixty years of existence.
The Army founded in 1949 with a limited group of people is now composed of six Security Forces Headquarters, five Forward Maintenance Areas, fourteen Divisions, six Task Force Headquarters, sixty-four Brigades, seven Area Headquarters, two Sub Area Headquarters and twenty-three Regiments.
The Army goes into the annals of military history this year because of its unmatched and glorious victory over the scourge of ruthless LTTE terrorism that posed a threat to the country’s unitary nature and territorial integrity and disrupted the peaceful co-existence of all ethnicities for over thirty years, though the peak of fighting against terrorism took place between the period 1999 - 2009.
Heroic soldiers of the Army at the expense of their own precious lives and limbs brought peace to the entire Sri Lanka and unified the Nation under one flag through “Victory through Sacrifice”. Therefore the commemoration of the Army Day (October 10th) and its 60th Anniversary at this juncture inspires us greatly. The issue of a new Coin and a First day stamp cover at Army Headquarters to coincide with this golden landmark, signals the undeniable fact that the Army has re-created a new milieu for our younger generation where they could live in peace and happiness,”
Details of the Issue
Date of Issue : 10th October 2009
Denomination : Rs. 15.00
Designer : Sanath Rohana Wickramasinghe
Stamp Size : 40 mm. x 40 mm
Format : Square
Printing Process : Offset Lithography
Sheet Composition : 80 Stamp per sheet
Perforations : 13
Printers : Department of Government Printing, Sri Lanka
Colours : 4 Process Colours
Paper : 102 gsm. Security Stamp Paper
Gum : PVA
Quantity Printed : 1,000,000
Last date of sale : 09.10.2010
Previous issue :
World Post Day – 09.10.2009
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