The Presidential Office Building in Taipei and a spray of orchid on a two-tone coin: Taiwan’s 50 yuan of 1997 belongs to a bimetallic type that stayed in circulation for less than ten years.

The obverse shows the façade of the Presidential Office with its central tower, encircled by a legend read from right to left: «中華民國八十六年», the 86th year of the Republic of China. The Minguo calendar counts from 1912, so the familiar date 1997 appears below as well. The reverse carries an orchid, a large 50 and the characters of the value «圓拾伍», with raised Braille dots at the top repeating the value for blind people.

The centre of the coin is aluminium bronze and the ring copper-nickel, while the edge is divided into five plain and five reeded sections. Coins of this type were struck from 1996 to 2001. In April 2002 the Central Bank introduced a new 50 yuan and began withdrawing the two-tone coins; they ceased to circulate on 30 June 2004 and after that could only be exchanged at the Bank of Taiwan.

Condition VF-AU: the coin has circulated, wear on the high points of the relief is moderate, and the building’s façade, the orchid petals and the legends are legible. For a date run of Taiwanese 50 yuan or a selection of Asian bimetallic coins, it represents a type that has left circulation.

Numismatics begins with a single coin and continues in the VPcoins catalogue.