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.

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 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 (zh:現行法規所定貨幣單位折算新台幣條例), 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 || $0.5 || 18 mm || 3 g || 97 % copper
2.5% zinc
0.5% tin || Mei Blossom ||rowspan=2| Value ||rowspan=2| 1981
(Republic Year 70) || $1 || 20 mm || 3.8 g || Aluminium bronze
92% copper
6% nickel
2% aluminium || Chiang Kai-shek || $5 || 22 mm || 4.4 g ||rowspan=2| Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel ||rowspan=2| Chiang Kai-shek ||rowspan=2| Value ||rowspan=2| 1981
(Republic Year 70) || $10 || 26 mm || 7.5 g ||bgcolor = "#cdad00"| $20 || 26.85 mm || 8.5 g || Ring:Aluminium bronze (as $50)
Center:Cupronickel (as $10) || Mona Rudao || Traditional canoes used by the Yami tribe ||bgcolor = "#cdad00"| 2001
(Republic Year 90) || $50 || 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)

Currently Circulating Coins
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world coins.

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.

Banknotes

---

|| $100 || 145 x 70 mm || Red || Sun Yat-sen, "The Chapter of Great Harmony" by Confucius || Chung-Shan Hall || 2000
(Republic Year 89) || July 2, 2001 || Plum flower and numeral 100 || || $200 || 150 x 70 mm || Green || Chiang Kai-shek, theme of land reform and public education || The Office of the President || 2001
(Republic Year 90) || January 2, 2002 || Orchid and numeral 200 || || Dark brown || 2004
(Republic Year 93) || July 20, 2005 || with holographic strip || 2004
(Republic Year 93) || July 20, 2005 || with holographic strip || $2000 || 165 x 70 mm || Purple || FORMOSAT-1 || Formosan landlocked salmon and Nanhu Mountain || 2001
(Republic Year 90) || July 1, 2002 || Pine and numeral 2000 ||

The Current Series
Image	Value	Dimensions	Color	Obverse	Reverse	Printed Date	Issued Date	Watermark	Note
front back	$500	155 x 70 mm	Brown	Youth baseball	Sika Deer and Dabajian Mountain	2000 (Republic Year 89)	December 15, 2000	Bamboo and numeral 500	without holographic strip
front back	$1000	160 x 70 mm	Blue	Elementary Education	Mikado Pheasant and Jade Mountain	1999 (Republic Year 88)	July 3, 2000	Chrysanthemum and numeral 1000	without holographic strip

See also

---

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

External links

---

• 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
• History of Taiwan currency
• New NT$500 and NT$1000 banknotes introduced, anti-counterfeit measures taken ^* 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

Circulating currencies | Economy of Taiwan

Sin-tâi-phiò | Neuer Taiwan-Dollar | Dolar Baru Taiwan | Taiwanese dollar | ニュー台湾ドル | 新臺幣