New Taiwan dollar

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New Taiwan dollar
新臺幣 (Chinese)

$2000 $50
ISO 4217 Code	TWD
User(s)	Republic of China
Inflation	1.37%
Source	Central Bank of China, June 2006
Method	CPI
Subunit
1/10	角 Jiao, but no official translation
1/100	cent (分, Fen) Subunits are rarely used
Symbol	$ or NT$
Nickname	kuài (塊)
角	máo (毛)
Plural	dollars (English only)
cent (分, Fen)	cents (English only)
Coins
Freq. used	$1, $5, $10, $50
Rarely used	$0.5, $20
Banknotes
Freq. used	$100, $500, $1000
Rarely used	$200, $2000
Central bank	Central Bank of China
Website	www.cbc.gov.tw
Printer	China Engraving and Printing Works
Website	www.cepp.gov.tw
Mint	Central Mint of China
Website	www.cmc.gov.tw

The New Taiwan dollar (新臺幣 or 新台幣) (currency code TWD and common abbreviation NT$), or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Republic of China within the areas of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu since 1949. Originally issued by the Bank of Taiwan, it is now issued by the Central Bank of China since 2000.

Although the official English word for the currency is dollar, in Mandarin it is known as yuan (as with Chinese numerals, this character has two forms — an informal form 元 and a formal form 圓 used to prevent alterations and accounting mistakes). Colloquially, it is called a kuài (塊 lit. piece) in Mandarin or kho͘ (箍 lit. circle) in Taiwanese. Subdivisions of a yuan are rarely used, since practically all products on the consumer market are being sold at whole units of yuan.

[edit] History

A NT$100 note issued by Bank of Taiwan in February 1988. It was taken out of circulation on July 1, 2002, as it had been replaced by a new NT$100 note on July 2, 2001 issued by the Central Bank of China.

The New Taiwan dollar was first issued by the Bank of Taiwan in June 15, 1949 to replace the Old Taiwan dollar at a 40,000-to-1 ratio. The first goal of the New Taiwan dollar was to end the hyperinflation which had plagued Taiwan and Mainland China due to the civil war. A few months later, the ROC government under the Kuomintang was defeated by the Chinese communists and retreated to Taiwan.

Even though the Taiwan dollar was the de facto currency of Taiwan, for years the old Chinese Nationalist yuan was still the official national currency of the Republic of China. The Chinese Nationalist yuan was also known as the fiat currency (法幣) or the silver yuan (銀元), even though it was decoupled from the value of silver during World War II. Many older statutes in ROC law have fines and fees denominated in this currency.

According to the Regulation of exchange rate between New Taiwan Dollars and the fiat currency in the ROC laws (現行法規所定貨幣單位折算新臺幣條例), the exchange rate is fixed at 3 TWD per 1 silver yuan and has never been changed despite decades of inflation. Despite the silver yuan being the primary legal tender currency, it was impossible to buy, sell, or use it, so it effectively did not exist to the public.

In July 2000, the New Taiwan dollar became the official currency of the ROC and is no longer secondary to the silver yuan. At the same time, the Central Bank of China began issuing New Taiwan dollar banknotes directly and the old notes issued by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.

In the history of the currency the exchange rate as compared to the United States dollar (USD) has varied from over 40 TWD per 1 USD in the 1960s to about 25 TWD per 1 USD around 1992. The exchange rate has been around 33 TWD per 1 USD in recent years.

[edit] Coins

The denominations of the Taiwan dollar in circulation are

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description		Date of
		Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue
	$0.5	18 mm	3 g	97 % copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	Mei Blossom, state title, year of minting	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
	$1	20 mm	3.8 g	92% copper 6% nickel 2% aluminium	Chiang Kai-shek, state title, year of minting
	$5	22 mm	4.4 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Chiang Kai-shek, state title, year of minting	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
	$10	26 mm	7.5 g
	$20	26.85 mm	8.5 g	Ring: Aluminium bronze (as $50) Center: Cupronickel (as $10)	Mona Rudao, state title, year of minting	Traditional canoes used by the Yami tribe	2001 (Republic Year 90)	July 9, 2001 [1]
	$50	28 mm	10 g	Aluminium bronze 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel	Sun Yat-sen, state title, year of minting	Latent images of both Chinese and Hindu Arabic numerals for 50	2002 (Republic Year 91)	April 26, 2002 [2]
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world coins. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Coins are minted by the Central Mint of China, while notes are printed by the China Engraving and Printing Works. Both are run by the Central Bank of China. $0.5 is rare because of its low value. $20 is rare because of the government's lack of willingness to promote it.

[edit] Banknotes

It is noted that the $200 and $2000 banknote are not commonly used. The exact reason is yet unknown. One plausible explanation is that these 2 denominations are new and it takes time for the people to get used to. Another likely cause is the lack of promotion from the government. Is it relatively easy for the government to disseminate these denominations through various government bodies that do official business with the citizens, such as the post office, the tax authority, or state owned banks. There is also a conspiracy theory against the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party when the two denominations were issued. The conspiracy states that putting Chiang Kai-shek on a rarely used banknote would "practically" remove him from the currency, while "nominally" including him on the currency would not upset supporters on the other side of the political spectrum that much (the Pan-Blue Coalition).

1999 Series
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description			Date of		Note
				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
	$100	145 × 70 mm	Red	Sun Yat-sen, "The Chapter of Great Harmony" by Confucius	Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall	Mei flower and numeral 100	2000 (Republic Year 89)	July 2, 2001
	$200	150 × 70 mm	Green	Chiang Kai-shek, theme of land reform and public education	The Office of the President	Orchid and numeral 200	2001 (Republic Year 90)	January 2, 2002
front back	$500	155 × 70 mm	Brown	Youth baseball	Sika Deer and Dabajian Mountain	Bamboo and numeral 500	2000 (Republic Year 89)	December 15, 2000	without holographic strip
			Dark brown				2004 (Republic Year 93)	July 20, 2005	with holographic strip
front back	$1000	160 × 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education	Mikado Pheasant and Jade Mountain	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	1999 (Republic Year 88)	July 3, 2000	without holographic strip
							2004 (Republic Year 93)	July 20, 2005	with holographic strip
	$2000	165 × 70 mm	Purple	FORMOSAT-1	Formosan landlocked salmon and Nanhu Mountain	Pine and numeral 2000	2001 (Republic Year 90)	July 1, 2002
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] See also

This page contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

• Chinese yuan
• History of Taiwan
• History of the Republic of China

[edit] References

1. ^ "20元新硬幣亮相！", 大紀元, 2001-07-05. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. (in Chinese)
2. ^ 郭文平. "新版50元硬幣 明發行", 自由時報, 2002-04-25. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. (in Chinese)

[edit] External links

• (Chinese) (English) SinoBanknote
• Virginia Sheng, "Notes from a Small Island", Taipei Review, September 1, 2000
• Chuang Chi-ting, "Legislator pans new bank notes", Taipei Times, February 17, 2001
• Global Financial Data currency histories table
• New NT$500 and NT$1000 banknotes introduced, anti-counterfeit measures taken [1] Taiwan News (online), July 20, 2005
• The Taiwanese hyperinflation and stabilization of 1945 - 1952
• Kurt Schuler, Tables of Modern Monetary History: Asia
• Banknotes of Matsu, Quemoy and Tachen