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5 Yuan Matsu
| Issuer | Bank of Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1955 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Yuan (5 TWD) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 行銀灣臺 伍 圓 限 馬 祖 地 區 通 用 年四十四國民華中 (Translation: Bank of Taiwan Five Yuan Use limited to Matsu district Chinese Republic Year Forty-four) |
| Reverse description | A detailed intaglio vignette of the Bank of Taiwan headquarters building occupies the upper half, with pedestrians and street activity in the foreground. Below, the English denomination legend appears within an elaborate scrollwork cartouche, beneath which a large numeral 5 is set within a guilloché medallion surrounded by a fine latticework underprint bearing repeated text. Red overprint characters 馬 and 祖 appear at lower left and right, reinforcing the Matsu district restriction. |
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| Comments |
The Matsu Local Currency series was issued specifically for use on the Matsu Islands — a cluster of Fujian coastal islands held by the Republic of China government on Taiwan, sitting just a few kilometers off the Chinese mainland. Segregating the currency was a deliberate military-administrative decision: notes in general circulation on Taiwan proper, if captured or smuggled across, could theoretically fund PLA operations. A physically distinct currency limited that exposure.
The Bank of Taiwan's own printing facility handled production, which was unusual for smaller-denomination specialty issues of this period — most comparable restricted-circulation notes from the ROC went offshore to Japanese or American printers.