All About the New Taiwan Dollar

The currency of Taiwan (or the Republic of China) is the New Taiwan Dollar.   The currency is not divided into smaller units, and has five denominations of banknotes and five denominations of coins. It is issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan).  It’s ISO 4217 code is TWD and is abbreviated as NT$.  It is commonly referred to as yuan.  Read on for a history of the New Taiwan Dollar.

History of the New Taiwan Dollar

From 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was under Japanese rule.  The government issued the Taiwan yen, comparable to the Japanese yen.  Due to the outcome of World War II, Taiwan was passed to the Republic of China, and the Taiwan Dollar was issued (now known as the Old Taiwan Dollar).  However, during the late 1940’s civil unrest broke out in China, hitting the economy of Taiwan hard.  Hyperinflation plagued the country, and banknotes began being issued at high denominations, up to one million yuan. In 1949, the Communists captured Beijing, forcing the nationalists to flee to Taiwan.  China’s gold reserve was moved to Taiwan that February.  On June 15, 1949, the Taiwan government declared the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.  As part of that, the New Taiwan Dollar began circulation and was exchanged at a rate of 1 dollar to 40,000 old dollars.

Even though the New Taiwan Dollar became the currency, the silver yuan remained the legal currency for a long time.  According to the statute, the exchange rate for the silver yuan to one New Taiwan Dollar was 3NT$ to 1 silver yuan.  That exchange rate has not changed since that time.  The Temporary Provisions were made ineffective in 1991, and Taiwan did not have a national currency until 2000, when the Central Bank of China began producing New Taiwan Dollars instead of the Bank of Taiwan.  In that same year the New Taiwan Dollar became the legal currency.  All old banknotes made by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.

Banknotes

New Taiwan Dollar banknotes come in denominations of NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1000, and NT$2000.  They feature a youth baseball team, wildlife, public buildings, children learning, and Sun Yat-sen, the first president of Taiwan.

Coins

New Taiwan Dollar coins come in NT$½, NT$1, NT$5, NT$10, NT$20, and NT$50 denominations.  They feature traditional canoes, numbers, the mei blossom, and famous leaders: Chiang Kai-shek, Mona Rudao, and Sun Yat-sen.