New Taiwan dollar

New Taiwan dollar
新臺幣 / 新台幣 (Chinese)
NT$2000 NT$50
ISO 4217 Code	TWD
User(s)	Taiwan
Inflation	2.34%,3.7% (CIA World Factbook, 2008 est.)
Source	Central Bank of the Republic of China, Jul-Dec 2007
Method	CPI
Subunit
1/10	角 Jiao, but no official translation
1/100	cent (分, Fen) Subunits used only in stocks and currencies
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	$½, $20
Banknotes
Freq. used	$100, $500, $1000
Rarely used	$200, $2000
Central bank	Central Bank of the Republic 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 (traditional Chinese: 新臺幣 or 新台幣; Hanyu Pinyin: Xīntáibì; Tongyong Pinyin: Sīntáibì) (currency code TWD and common abbreviation NT$), or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China (ROC) since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar. Originally issued by the Bank of Taiwan, it has been issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of China since 2000.

Etymology

The Chinese term for "New Taiwan Dollar" (新臺幣 or 新台幣, literally "new Taiwan currency") typically is only used for banking and in legal contracts where it is necessary to avoid any possible ambiguity, or when talking about foreign exchange or other currencies.

In common usage, the dollar unit is typically referred to as yuán. In Taiwan, the character for yuán can be written in either of two forms, an informal 元 or a formal 圓, both of which are interchangeable. Mandarin speakers also use kuài. Kuài is written 塊 and is an abbreviation for 塊錢 (kuài qián), which literally means "piece of money". In the context of discussing prices, 錢 (qián; money) can be omitted. In general, yuán is more commonly used when writing and kuài is more commonly used when speaking.

Taiwanese speakers may also use the word kho͘ (箍 ; literally "circle").

In English usage the New Taiwan Dollar is often abbreviated as NT, NT$, NT Dollar or NTD, while the abbreviation TWD is typically used in the context of foreign exchange rates. Subdivisions of a New Taiwan Dollar are rarely used, since practically all products on the consumer market are being sold at whole dollars.

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 It was taken out of circulation on July 1, 2002, as it had been replaced by a new NT$100 note on July 2, 2001 issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of China.

The New Taiwan dollar was first issued by the Bank of Taiwan on 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 that had plagued Taiwan and Mainland China due to the civil war. A few months later, the ROC government under the Kuomintang (KMT) 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 yuán (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 (now known as the Central Bank of the Republic 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 less than 10 TWD per USD in the mid-1950s to more than 40 TWD per 1 USD in the 1960s and about 25 TWD per 1 USD around 1992. The exchange rate as of June 21, 2010 sits around 31.8 TWD per 1 USD.

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
	NT$½	18 mm	3 g	97 % copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	Mei Blossom, "中華民國XX年"1	Value	1981 (Minguo year 70)	December 8, 1981[1]
	NT$1	20 mm	3.8 g	92% copper 6% nickel 2% aluminium	Chiang Kai-shek, "中華民國XX年"			December 8, 1981[1]
	NT$5	22 mm	4.4 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Chiang Kai-shek, "中華民國XX年"	Value	1981 (Minguo year 70)	December 8, 1981[1]
	NT$10	26 mm	7.5 g					December 8, 1981[1]
	NT$20	26.85 mm	8.5 g	Ring: Aluminium bronze (as $50) Center: Cupronickel (as $10)	Mona Rudao, "莫那魯道"2, "中華民國XX年"	Traditional canoes used by the Tao people	2001 (Minguo year 90)	July 9, 2001[2]
	NT$50	28 mm	10 g	Aluminium bronze 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel	Sun Yat-sen, "中華民國XX年"	Latent images of both Chinese and Arabic numerals for 50	2002 (Minguo year 91)	April 26, 2002[3]
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimeter. 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 the Republic of China. The NT$½ coin is rare because of its low value, while the NT$20 coin is rare because of the government's lack of willingness to promote it.

Remarks

1. "中華民國XX年" = "Minguo XX". "中華民國" is also the state title "Republic of China".
2. "莫那魯道" = "Mona Rudao", anti-Japanese leader at the Wushe Incident.

Banknotes

Note that the $200 and $2000 banknotes are not commonly used. The exact reason is yet unknown. One plausible explanation is that these two 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. For the $2000 banknotes, it might be that the level of consumption has not reached high enough levels to justify carrying banknotes of such value, especially since transactions of larger amounts are widely made through debit or credit cards.

It is 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 at the time 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			Remark
				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue	withdrawal
	NT$100	145 × 70 mm	Red	Sun Yat-sen, "The Chapter of Great Harmony" by Confucius	Chung-Shan Building	Mei flower and numeral 100	2000 (Minguo 89)	July 2, 2001
	NT$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 (Minguo year 90)	January 2, 2002
	NT$500	155 × 70 mm	Brown	Youth baseball	Formosan Sika Deer and Dabajian Mountain	Bamboo and numeral 500	2000 (Minguo year 89)	December 15, 2000	August 1, 2007	without holographic strip
			Dark brown				2004 (Minguo 93)	July 20, 2005		with holographic strip
	NT$1000	160 × 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education (errors[4][5])	Mikado Pheasant and Jade Mountain	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	1999 (Minguo year 88)	July 3, 2000	August 1, 2007	without holographic strip
							2004 (Minguo year 93)	July 20, 2005		with holographic strip
	NT$2000	165 × 70 mm	Purple	FORMOSAT-1, technology	Formosan landlocked salmon and Nanhu Mountain	Pine and numeral 2000	2001 (Minguo year 90)	July 1, 2002
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The year 2000 version $500 and 1999 version $1000 notes without holographic strip were officially taken out of circulation on August 1, 2007. They were redeemable at commercial banks until September 30, 2007. As of October 1, 2007, only the Bank of Taiwan accepts such notes.^[6]

See also

• History of the Republic of China
• Economy of the Republic of China

References

External links

• (Chinese) (English) SinoBanknote

• Virginia Sheng, "Notes from a Small Island", Taipei Review, September 1, 2000
• The Taiwanese hyperinflation and stabilization of 1945 - 1952
• Banknotes of Matsu, Quemoy and Tachen

• Close up image of a circulated 50 NT coin

News

• Chuang Chi-ting, "Legislator pans new bank notes", Taipei Times, February 17, 2001
• New NT$500 and NT$1000 banknotes introduced, anti-counterfeit measures taken [1] Taiwan News (online), July 20, 2005

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