Taiwan: New Commemorative Banknote

[Bimat]

Here's latest commemorative banknote: issued by Taiwan (China) commemorating 100th anniversary of founding of Republic of China. (Denomination: 100 Yuan)



Aditya

[Ukrainii Pyat]

Curiously Dr. Sun Yat Sen is one figure in Chinese history that the communists on the mainland, and the nationalists on Taiwan agree was a hero.  I believe the mainland China will be commemorating, but probably not on a banknote but probably stamps or coins.

[Enlil]

Is it the chinese on the reverse? Otherwise it looks like a normal issue.

[Bimat]

Updated Friday, September 9, 2011 11:59 pm TWN, The China Post news staff

Collectible banknote set spurs nationwide shopping scramble

A commemorative banknote set was expected to sell out in a matter of hours yesterday as local collectors and investors vied with those from Hong Kong and China for the memorabilia expected to rise in value soon.

Commissioned by the Central Bank of China (CBC), the 500,000 "Collector's Version of the Republic of China Founding Centenary NT$100 Banknotes" set were almost all gone shortly after the beginning of sale yesterday and immediately resold for as much as NT$2,000 each, far more than the face value of NT$300 and retail price of NT$500. Each set has three NT$100 bills in it.

College students, housewives, and old folks with time to kill were hired to stand in line, some since early in the day, for the private collectors and investors. Some college students who had tipped off each other on line came in hordes, hoping to reap a handsome windfall of more than NT$1,000 before the beginning of a new school year.

Some speculators, armed with NT$10 million cash each, even stood in the streets outside the CBC building in downtown Taipei offering cash in broad daylight to smiling people for the prizes in their hands. The more enterprising among them, allegedly from Hong Kong, even brought mobile toilets and provided lunchboxes and cold drinks for their hired hands, who were paid around NT$180 an hour.

At nine o'clock sharp, the crowd rushed past security and squeezed into the CBC entrances, causing a mayhem never witnessed before in such sales in the history of the republic. Bank security personnel trying to restore order had to use megaphones to rise above the din.

According to analysts, the unprecedented rush on CBC was caused by the insatiable demand for currency sets in mainland China, where such items are easily resold for a profit, especially after the Jan. 6, 2011, first CBC sale of these banknote sets. On the other hand, contract-bound local coin and banknotes dealers were so anxious to avoid being penalized for failure to deliver the sets they simply bid up the prices.

The first 300,000 sets, all sold out at the beginning of the years, could then fetch a price up to NT$8,000 in a resale, more than 20 times higher than their face value and retail price. The markup this time is not expected to be as exorbitant as that in January.

As of press time, there was no word whether or not the 500,000 sets were all gone.

Source: China Post

Image Caption 1:Crowds choke the streets around the two Pingtung branches of the Bank of Taiwan yesterday as they line up to buy the "Collector's Version of the Republic of China Founding Centenary One Hundred New Taiwan Dollar Banknotes" set. (CNA)

Image Caption 2: Four college students in Pingtung in southern Taiwan who stood in line since the wee hours to buy the collectors' sets happily show off their prizes bought from a local office of the Central Bank of China, yesterday. Many people expect the sets to rapidly gain value. (CNA)

[augsburger]

You know things are crazy when they make enough to make people lots of money, same in China, most people who buy don't actually care about collecting but there are just enough collectors to pump the price up massively if others get in on it. Crazy.

They should just go "oh, this was popular, let's release another 2 million" and then next time people won't do this! But then again they probably want this massive craziness to sell more rubbish next time around!

[Bimat]

Central bank rebuts profiteering accusation

2011/09/09 19:10:30

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's central bank rebutted an accusation by an opposition lawmaker Friday that it "harvested illegal profits" by issuing commemorative banknotes.

The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s issuance of a total of 800,000 sets of uncut commemorative NT$100 currency sheets -- each sheet comprising three commemorative NT$100 banknotes -- was perfectly legal and appropriate in accordance with the law, the central bank said in a statement.

The Bank of Taiwan was appointed to deal with the exchange of the commemorative notes and the sale of the uncut sheets, each of which cost NT$500 (US$17), the CBC said.

Dismissing Opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher's accusation that the CBC was "bagging NT$400 million out of the sale," the central bank pointed out that the profit balance totals only NT$55 per sale.

"And all the profit, totaling only NT$44 million, will be channeled into the national coffers," the bank said.

The commemorative sheets were so hot on the market that they sold out within hours. The first batch of 300,000 sets sold out Jan. 6 and the second batch of 500,000 sets went on sale Sept. 8.

Source: Focus Taiwan

[Figleaf]

Dear legislator has confused illegal with immoral and turnover (NT$ 500 x 800 000 sets = NT$ 400 mln.) with profit. A common enough error among people who live on tax money. However, the point is that there is an opposition and it does speak up.

Meanwhile, a profit of a mere 11% on a set of paper money seems shockingly low to me. Fixed cost (design, marketing) may have been significant, but they can be divided over 800 000 sets. Variable cost (ink, printing) must have been negligible.

Peter