The Issuance of the Commemorative Coin Set
for the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dragon

The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will issue a commemorative coin set for 2012, the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dragon on January 16, 2012. The Central Bank has appointed the Bank of Taiwan to deal with the sale of 150,000 sets of coins, limited to one coin set per purchaser at a time. Each set consists of one silver coin weighing an ounce as well as two proof coins in different denominations. The silver coin has a face value of NT$100, and the two proof coins NT$50 and NT$20, respectively. Each coin set costs NT$2,000.

The obverse face of the silver coin shows the image of a dragon. Dragons can soar into the air and dive under the sea with equal ease. They are infinitely resourceful. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have regarded dragons as a symbol of unparalleled distinction and auspiciousness. The reverse side features an image of the “Ershawan Gun Emplacement”(二沙灣砲臺) located on the eastern side of Keelung Harbor, which was built on a natural reef and reconstructed in 1886 by General Liu Ming-Chuan, the first Taiwan Provincial Governor during the Ching Dynasty. It was classified by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a national historic site.