New Taiwan dollar

The adjective "new" (新) is only added in formal contexts where it is necessary to avoid any ambiguity, even though ambiguity is virtually non-existent today. These contexts include banking, contracts, or foreign exchange. The currency unit name can be written in 圓 or 元, which are interchangeable. They are both pronounced yuán in Mandarin. But they have different pronunciations in Taiwanese Hokkien (îⁿ, goân) and Hakka (yèn, ngièn). The name 仙 in Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka for cent is likely from the hundredth unit 錢 (sen) of Japanese era Taiwanese yen or from English.

In English usage, the New Taiwan dollar is often abbreviated as NT, NT$, or NT dollar, 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 sold in whole dollars. Nevertheless, banks do record cents (hundredth of dollar).

The New Taiwan dollar was first issued by the Bank of Taiwan on 15 June 1949, to replace the Old Taiwan dollar at a ratio of 40,000 to one. The first goal of the New Taiwan dollar was to end the hyperinflation that had plagued Nationalist China due to the Chinese Civil War.

After the communists captured Beijing in January 1949, the Nationalists began to retreat to Taiwan. China's gold reserve was moved to Taiwan in February 1949. The government then declared in the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion that dollars issued by the Bank of Taiwan would become the new currency in circulation.[2]

Even though the New Taiwan dollar was the de facto currency of Taiwan, for years the silver yuan remained the legal currency. The value of the silver yuan was decoupled from the value of silver during World War II. Many older statutes have fines and fees given in this currency.

According to statute, one silver yuan is worth three New Taiwan dollars.[3] Despite decades of inflation, this ratio has not been adjusted. This made the silver yuan a purely notational currency long ago, nearly impossible to buy, sell, or use.

When the Temporary Provisions were made ineffective in 1991, the ROC lacked a legal national currency until the year 2000, when the Central Bank of China (CBC) replaced the Bank of Taiwan in issuing NT bills.[2] In July 2000, the New Taiwan dollar became Taiwan's legal currency. It is no longer secondary to the silver yuan. At this time, the central bank began issuing New Taiwan dollar banknotes, and the notes issued earlier by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.

The exchange rate compared to the United States dollar has varied from less than ten to one in the mid-1950s, more than forty to one in the 1960s, and about twenty-five to one in 1992. The exchange rate as of December 2019 is NT$30.37 per US$.[4]

The denominations of the New Taiwan dollar in circulation are:

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description		Date of
		Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue
	NT$​1⁄2	18 mm	3 g	97% copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	Mei Blossom, "中華民國XX年"[5]	Value	1981 (Minguo year 70)	1981-12-08[6]
	NT$1	20 mm	3.8 g	92% copper 6% nickel 2% aluminium	Chiang Kai-shek, "中華民國XX年"			1981-12-08[6]
	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)	1981-12-08[6]
	NT$10	26 mm	7.5 g
					Sun Yat-sen, "中華民國XX年"	Value, continuous hidden words "國泰", "民安", continuous hidden Taiwan island and Mei Blossom in "0"	2011 (Minguo year 100)	2011-01-11[6]
	NT$20	26.85 mm	8.5 g	Ring: Aluminium bronze (as $50) Center: Cupronickel (as $10)	Mona Rudao, "莫那魯道",[7] "中華民國XX年"	Traditional canoes used by the Tao people	2001 (Minguo year 90)	2001-07-09[8]
	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)	2002-04-26[9]

Coins are minted by the Central Mint, while notes are printed by the Central Engraving and Printing Plant. Both are run by the Central Bank. The NT$​¹⁄₂ coin is rare because of its low value, while the NT$20 coin is rare because of the government's lack of willingness to promote it. As of 2010, the cost of the raw materials in a NT$​¹⁄₂ coin was more than the face value of the coin.

The current series of banknotes for the New Taiwan dollar began circulation in July 2000. This set was introduced when the New Taiwan dollar succeeded the silver yuan as the official currency within Taiwan.

The current set includes banknotes for NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1000, and NT$2000. Note that the NT$200 and NT$2000 banknotes are not commonly used by consumers. This may be due to the tendencies of consumers to simply use multiple NT$100 or NT$500 bills to cover the range of the NT$200, as well as using NT$1000 bills or credit/debit cards instead of the NT$2000 bill. Lack of government promotion may also be a contributing factor to the general lack of usage.

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)	2001-07-02
	NT$200	150 × 70 mm	Green	Chiang Kai-shek, theme of land reform and public education	Presidential Office Building	Orchid and numeral 200	2001 (Minguo year 90)	2002-01-02
	NT$500	155 × 70 mm	Brown	Youth baseball	Formosan sika deer and Dabajian Mountain	Bamboo and numeral 500	2000 (Minguo year 89)	2000-12-15	2007-08-01	without holographic strip
							2004 (Minguo 93)	2005-07-20		with holographic strip
	NT$1000	160 × 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education (1999 errors[10][11])	Mikado pheasant and Yushan (Jade Mountain)	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	1999 (Minguo year 88)	2000-07-03	2007-08-01	without holographic strip
							2004 (Minguo year 93)	2005-07-20		with holographic strip
	NT$2000	165 × 70 mm	Purple	FORMOSAT-1, technology	Formosan landlocked salmon and Mount Nanhu	Pine and numeral 2000	2001 (Minguo year 90)	2002-07-01		with holographic strip

The year 2000 version $500 and 1999 version $1000 notes without holographic strip were officially taken out of circulation on 1 August 2007. They were redeemable at commercial banks until 30 September 2007. As of 1 October 2007, only the Bank of Taiwan (now the Central Bank of the Republic of China) accepts such notes.[12]

100-dollar commemorative note

100-dollar commemorative note, with the commemorative text

On 6 January 2011, the Central Bank of the Republic of China issued a new 100-dollar legal tender circulating commemorative in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China. The red paper note measures 145 × 70 mm and features a portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen on the front, and the Chung-Shan Building on the back. The design is no different from the ordinary NT$100 note, except for the Chinese wording on the reverse of the note, which reads "Celebrating 100 years since the founding of the Republic of China (慶祝中華民國建國一百年)".[13]

• Old Taiwan dollar
• Economy of Taiwan
• Taxation in Taiwan
• History of the Republic of China
• ROC consumer voucher

• New NT$500 and NT$1000 banknotes introduced, anti-counterfeit measures taken Taiwan News (online), 20 July 2005

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Money of Taiwan.

• (in Chinese and English) SinoBanknote
• (in Chinese) Banknotes of Matsu, Quemoy and Tachen
• (in Chinese) The Central Bank page showcasing all obsolete issues of the new Taiwan dollar in all denominations
• Close up image of a circulated 50 NT coin
• (in English, German, and French) Historical and current banknotes of Taiwan