50 Cents

The Bank of Taiwan was reconstituted as a provincial institution under the Republic of China government following the 1945 handover from Japan, but its real test came with the massive influx of mainlanders after 1949. The hyperinflationary collapse of the Old Taiwan Dollar — which had reached exchange rates in the millions against the Shanghai yuan — forced the June 1949 currency reform that introduced the New Taiwan Dollar at 40,000:1. This 50-cent fractional note belongs to the stabilization issues that followed, small denominations needed once the new currency actually had to function in daily commerce.

The Central Engraving and Printing Plant had relocated to Taiwan from the mainland, bringing its equipment and staff across the strait in the chaos of late 1949.