New Taiwan dollar

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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 (Taiwan) since 2000, although it has been in circulation since 1949. Originally issued by the Bank of Taiwan, it is now issued by the Central Bank of China.

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, Taiwanese: kho·). Subdivisions of a yuan are rarely used, since practically all products on the consumer market are being sold at whole units of yuan.

Contents

1 History
2 Coins
3 Banknotes
4 See also
5 External links

History

A NT0 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 It was taken out of circulation on July 1, 2002, as it had been replaced by a new NT0 note on July 2, 2001 issued by the Central Bank of China.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 [[s:Regulation of exchange rate between New Taiwan dollars and the fiat currency in the ROC laws|Regulation of exchange rate between New Taiwan Dollars and the fiat currency in the ROC laws]] ([[s:zh:現行法規所定貨幣單位折算新台幣條例|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.

Coins

The denominations of the Taiwan dollar in circulation are

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year
	.5	18 mm	3 g	97 % copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	Mei Blossom	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
		20 mm	3.8 g	Aluminium bronze 92% copper 6% nickel 2% aluminium	Chiang Kai-shek	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
		22 mm	4.4 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Chiang Kai-shek	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
		26 mm	7.5 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Chiang Kai-shek	Value	1981 (Republic Year 70)
		26.85 mm	8.5 g	Ring: Aluminium bronze (as ) Center: Cupronickel (as )	Mona Rudao	Traditional canoes used by the Yami tribe	2001 (Republic Year 90)
		28 mm	10 g	Aluminium bronze 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel	Sun Yat-sen	Latent images of both Chinese and Hindu Arabic numerals for 50	2002 (Republic Year 91)
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world coins.

.5" title="NT.5" /> .5 18 mm 3 g 97 % copper
2.5% zinc
0.5% tin Mei Blossom Value 1981
(Republic Year 70)

20 mm 3.8 g Aluminium bronze
92% copper
6% nickel
2% aluminium Chiang Kai-shek

22 mm 4.4 g Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel Chiang Kai-shek Value 1981
(Republic Year 70)

26 mm 7.5 g