Taiwan’s 1,000 Dollar Banknote, 2004

I was doing some research about Chinese banknotes and I saw this interesting link to a 2004 Chinese 1000 Yuan. I had never heard of this and was in shock. China had always kept its highest denomination at 100 Yuan. Like many things on the internet, this link was incorrect. It was a reference to Taiwan’s 2004 1000 Dollar (not Yuan) P-1997. But it is a nice note and a country that doesn’t get enough attention.

Taiwan is an island nation with a challenging relationship to ‘mainland China’. When Mao’s communist army won the civil war in China, Chiang Kai-Shek and his Koumintang government fled to the island and established the Republic of China (ROC). Taiwan has been a US ally and was supported by western powers while The People Republic of China (PRC) was a closed nation. The PRC sees the island as part of the entire Chinese nation, similar to Hong Kong and hostilities continue to be threatened between the nations. 

Taiwan Banknote Designs

Taiwan has produced several collectable banknotes since its founding. The 2004 1000 dollar is a nice choice. The portrait on the front shows 4 young children looking at a globe. Education has always been a focus of the Taiwanese people, and this imagery fits the culture very well. The note has an attractive holographic foil that was a strong anti-counterfeit feature at the time. In the lower left is the 1000 denomination printed in an optically variable ink. It looks just like the US 10, but with two more zeros. The reverse shows two Mikado Pheasants and Jade Mountain. The Mikado Pheasant is the unofficial bird of Taiwan. Jade Mountain is the highest feature in Taiwan and is located in Yushan National Park where the pheasant is known to inhabit. 

Taiwan hasn’t issued many banknotes or redesigned their banknotes very often. The last one was a commemorative 100 in 2011.  The government announced designs / themes for a new series back in 2018. The 6^th series of coins have come out, but no word on banknotes.  Seems like it is time for a new banknote series!