Central Bank governor Ajith Cabraal has been quoted as saying that 20 tonnes was just an estimate and no value has been placed yet on this quantity.
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan devotees who visit temples in India regularly offer coins as meritorious offerings and drop them in tills placed in temples.
These coins once returned to Sri Lanka would be put into circulation as it would be costly to replace them with new coins, Cabraal was quoted as saying by the Sunday Times.