New Taiwan dollar Totally Explained

Everything about The New Taiwan Dollar totally explained

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

Etymology

Although the official English word for the currency is dollar, in Mandarin it's known as yuán (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's called a kuài (塊 lit. piece) in Mandarin or kho͘ (箍 lit. circle) in Taiwanese. “It is frequently called "NT" by expatriates living and working in Taiwan and by local people, when speaking English.““ Subdivisions of a yuan are rarely used, since practically all products on the consumer market are being sold at whole units of yuan.

History

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 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 , 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 didn't 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 currently sits around 30 TWD per 1 USD.

Coins

The denominations of the Taiwan dollar in circulation are

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Technical parameters	Description	Date of
Image	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue
	$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)
	$1	20 mm	3.8 g	92% copper 6% nickel 2% aluminium	Chiang Kai-shek, "中華民國XX年"	Value	1981 (Minguo year 70)
	$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)
	$10	26 mm	7.5 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Chiang Kai-shek, "中華民國XX年"	Value	1981 (Minguo year 70)
	$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
	$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

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. T$½ is rare because of its low value . T$20 is rare because of the government's lack of willingness to promote it.

Remarks

"中華民國XX年" = "Minguo XX". "中華民國" is also the state title "Republic of China".
"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 hasn't reached high enough levels to justify carrying banknotes of such value, especially since transactions of larger amounts are widely made through plastic money.
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 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 wouldn't 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
Image	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue	withdrawal
	$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
	$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
front back	$500	155 × 70 mm	Brown	Youth baseball	Sika Deer and Dabajian Mountain	Bamboo and numeral 500	2000 (Minguo year 89)	December 15, 2000	August 1, 2007	without holographic strip
	$500	155 × 70 mm	Dark brown	Youth baseball	Sika Deer and Dabajian Mountain	Bamboo and numeral 500	2004 (Minguo 93)	July 20, 2005		with holographic strip
front back	$1000	160 × 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education (errors)	Mikado Pheasant and Jade Mountain	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	1999 (Minguo year 88)	July 3, 2000	August 1, 2007	without holographic strip
	$1000	160 × 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education (errors)	Mikado Pheasant and Jade Mountain	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	2004 (Minguo year 93)	July 20, 2005		with holographic strip
	$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

The $500 and $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.

Further Information

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