The currency of Tawain from 1895 to 1946 was taiwanese yen. It on a par with and circulated alongside the Japanese yen

In 1895, as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War, Qing China ceded Taiwan to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Japanese yen then became the currency of Taiwan, with distinct banknotes denominated in yen issued by the Bank of Taiwan from 1898. Only banknotes and stamp currency were issued.

In 1945, after Japan was defeated in World War II, the Republic of China assumed the administration of Taiwan, took over the Bank of Taiwan within a year, and introduced the Old Taiwan dollar, which replaced the yen at par.

Old Taiwan dollar

Taiwan was under Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945 and the colonial government of Taiwan issued the Taiwan yen during this period through the Bank of Taiwan. In 1945, after the Japanese Empire was defeated in World War II, the Republic of Chinaassumed control of Taiwan. Within a year, the Nationalist government assumed control of the Bank of Taiwan and issued Taiwan dollars (also known as Taiwan Nationalist yuan or TWN) as a “provisional” replacement for the Taiwan yen at the rate of one to one. The new banknotes were initially printed in Shanghai, and were shipped to Taipei. After the Nationalists consolidated their control over Taiwan the banknotes were printed in Taipei. The currency was not subdivided, and no coins were issued.

Due to the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s, Taiwan, suffered hyperinflation. As inflation worsened, the government issued banknotes at higher and higher denominations, up to one million yuan. Because the inflation of the Old Taiwan dollar was only a side effect of the inflation of Chinese yuan of mainland China, it depreciated at a slower rate than the currency used on the mainland.

The Old Taiwan dollar was replaced by the New Taiwan dollar on June 15, 1949, at the rate of 1 new dollar to 40,000 old dollars. The Nationalists were defeated by the Communists in the same year and retreated to Taiwan. After retreating to Taiwan, the Nationalist government was able to manage the currency’s inflation, and the severe inflation that had characterized Chinese currencies in the late 1940s ended.The Old Taiwan dollar was used from 1946 to 1949.

 New Taiwan dollar

The New Taiwan dollar was first issued by the Bank of Taiwan on June 15, 1949. The first goal of the New Taiwan dollar was to end the hyperinflation that had plagued Nationalist China. China’s gold reserve was moved to Taiwan in February.

Even though the New Taiwan dollar was the actual currency of Taiwan, for years the silver yuan remained the legal currency. The value of the silver yuan was decoupled from the value of silver during World War II. Many older statutes have fines and fees given in this currency.

According to statute, three New Taiwan dollars is worth one silver yuan. Despite decades of inflation, this ratio has not been adjusted. This made the silver yuan a purely notational currency long ago, nearly impossible to buy, sell, or use.

In July 2000, the New Taiwan dollar became Taiwan’s legal currency. It is no longer secondary to the silver yuan. At this time, the central bank began issuing New Taiwan dollar banknotes, and the notes issued earlier by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.

History of the Rupee is following – India was one of the first issuers of coins (circa: 6th Century BC), and as a result it has seen a wide range of monetary units throughout its history. There is some historical evidence to show that the first coins may have been introduced somewhere between 2500 and 1750 BC. However, the first documented coins date from between the 7th/6th century BC to the 1st century AD. These coins are called ‘punch-marked’ coins because of their manufacturing technique.

Over the next few centuries, as traditions developed and empires rose and fell, the country’s coinage designs reflected its progression and often depicted dynasties, socio-political events, deities, and nature. This included dynastic coins, representing Greek Gods of the Indo-Greek period followed by the Western Kshatrapa copper coins from between the 1st and the 4th Century AD.

In 712 AD, the Arabs conquered the Indian province of Sindh and brought their influence and coverage with them. By the 12th Century, Turkish Sultans of Delhi replaced the longstanding Arab designs and replaced them with Islamic calligraphy. This currency was referred to as ‘Tanka’ and the lower valued coins, ‘Jittals’. The Delhi Sultanate attempted to standardise this monetary system and coins were subsequently made in gold, silver and copper.

In 1526, the Mughal period commenced, bringing forth a unified and consolidated monetary system for the entire Empire. This was heavily influenced by the Afghan Sher Shah Suri (1540 to 1545) who introduced the silver Rupayya or Rupee coin. The princely states of pre-colonial India minted their own coins, all which mainly resembled the silver Rupee, but held regional distinctions depending on where they were from. During the late 18th Century when political unrest occurred, agency houses developed banks such as the Bank of Bengal and Bahar, The Bank of Hindustan, Orient Bank Corporation and The Bank of Western India. These banks also printed their own paper currency in the Urdu, Bengali and Nagri languages.

It was only in 1858 when the British Crown gained control of the one hundred Princely states, and subsequently ended the Mughal Empire, that the coin’s native images were replaced by portraits of the Monarch of Great Britain to indicate British Supremacy. In 1866, when the financial establishments collapsed, the control of paper money also shifted to the British Government. This was subsequently passed to the Mint Masters, the Accountant Generals and the Controller of Currency. In 1867, the Victoria Portrait series of bank notes was issued in honour of Queen Victoria.

After gaining its independence in 1947 and becoming a republic in 1950, India’s modern Rupee reverted back to the design of the signature Rupee coin. The symbol chosen for the paper currency was the Lion Capital at Sarnath which replaced the George VI series of bank notes. In 1996, the Mahatma Gandhi Series of Paper notes was introduced.

In 1392, the Goryeo kingdom was overthrown and the state of Joseon dynasty was founded. The founder of the dynasty, Taejong made several attempts to bring upon improvements in the prevailing monetary system but they were not a success initially. The attempts include issuing Korean version of Chinese paper currency and issuing coins instead of importing them from China. The coins issued in Korean being unsuccessful led to the issuance of a standardized note made of black mulberry bark called Jeohwa (??/??), that was used in place of coins. The coins that were minted in the 17th century came out to be a success at last and as a result, 24 mints were established throughout Korea. Coinage formed a major part of the exchange system after this time. In 1633, “mun” was made the main currency of Korea and copper and bronze coins were issued denominated in this currency unit. It prevailed till 1892 when “yang” took over as the main currency. Yang was the first currency that used decimal system as it was divided in 100 equal fun, though it did not last long.
In 1902, won was introduced as the official currency unit replacing yang @ 1 won = 5 yang. The bank of Korea was established 1909 but soon after in 1910, Japan annexed Korea. Under Colonial rule, the country was made to use the currency unit “yen” in the name of Korean yen, which took over the Korean won at par. After the division of Korea, the state of South Korea was established and recognized in 1948, and won was again made the official currency of the new state. “jeon” was made the subunit of the currency that divided it into 100 equal parts. Bank of Joseon issued the currency for independent South Korea for the first time that too in banknotes only.

The country then had to switch over to a new currency unit named “hwan” replacing won @ 1 hwan = 100 won. Like South Korean won, this currency unit was also issued in banknotes initially but in 1959, coins denominated in hwan were also issued and were the first circulating coins in South Korea. Hwan had a peg with US dollar but with time it also got devaluated. This was the reason for the reintroduction of won in 1962 as the official currency unit. South Korean currency was still pegged to the US dollar until in 1997 when it was floated into the world market.

The origin of Japanese currency can be traced to the Wu Zhu bronze coin of China, which was introduced under the Han Dynasty around 221 BC. Until the 8th Century the Japanese imported such coins from China. However, in 708 the Japanese government began minting their own silver and copper coins called the Wado Kaichin or Wado Kaiho, which imitated the Chinese Kai Yuan Tong Bao coin’s size, shape, and weight.

Approximately 250 years later though, the Japanese government entered into a period of decline and as they could no longer mint their own currency, begun to import Chinese currency again. Over the next few centuries, the inflow of Chinese coins did not meet the demand for a monetary medium that resulted from the growing trade and economic expansion. To meet this demand, two privately minted Japanese coins (from the 14th – 16th century) Toraisen and the Shichusen entered into circulation.
Around the late 15th Century, warlords had accumulated large debts that needed to be paid off, which subsequently encouraged the minting of gold and silver coins known as the Koshu Kin. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Edo Period), gold coinage was made into a standard currency. The Tokugawa Shogunate Government then established a unified monetary system that consisted of these gold coins in addition to silver and copper.

Minting took place in the Kinza Gold mints where the present head office of the Bank of Japan now stands. Although some paper currency had been introduced previously (circa 1600), it was not until the Meiji Restoration that the first nationally accepted paper money was established. The Meiji Government wished to simplify and centralise all the various coins (holding different values) that came about under the Edo Period and thus created the Yen in 1871. The New Currency Act developed a monetary system similar to that of European countries, and made a decimal accounting system of Rin, Sen, and Yen. Thus the gold standard was adopted and the round-shaped Yen replaced the previous gold and silver coinage.

The first national Yen banknotes of the 1870s resembled US banknotes as they were printed by a US company. However, the 153 national banks of Japan of the late 19th century were to lose their authority when the official Bank of Japan was established in 1882. The yen was introduced in 1872 as part of the modernization of the Japanese currency system. The value of the yen was originally linked directly to that of gold. After extensive devaluation resulting from World War II, the Bretton Woods system linked the yen to the US dollar. In turn, when the US started to abandon strict adherence to the gold standard in the early 1970s, the yen was allowed to float in 1973. However, since 1973, the Japanese government has maintained a policy of currency intervention, and the yen is therefore under a “dirty float” regime. This intervention continues until today. The Japanese government focuses on a competitive export market, and tries to ensure a low yen value.

The Plaza Accord of 1985 temporarily changed this situation and led to a peak value against the US dollar in 1995, effectively increasing the value of Japan’s GDP to almost that of the United States. Since that time, however, the yen has greatly decreased in value. The Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has an extreme anti-inflation policy. The yen is widely regarded as undervalued, and the Japanese government cannot keep supporting this low level indefinitely. The current situation is very similar to 1998, when low interest rates also created an undervalued yen, and a few global economic shocks – relatively moderate in nature – cause the yen to rapidly appreciate. The increase in value had seriously negative effects on various industries that relied on a cheap yen.