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After joyful parades and inspirational exhibits honouring the crowning of Chinese Taipei as first-time winners of the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS in November, 2024, Taiwan’s Central Bank has officially announced the design and the pre-order schedule of the WBSC Premier12 2024 “Global Champions” commemorative silver coin to the public.
A total of 36,000 silver coins will be available for pre-order at NT$1,600 (approximately USD$55) each through the online ordering system and at bank counters with a limit of one coin per person. The commemorative coins will be available for pick up in November 2025, one year after Chinese Taipei claimed the WBSC Premier12 title. If the number of pre-orders exceeds the limit, a computer lottery will be held to determine the availability of the orders.
According to the Central Bank, which commissioned the Bank of Taiwan to sell commemorative coins, the engraved coin has a face value of NT$50 and contains half an ounce of silver and a fineness of 999. The design of the front face features a celebration scene of 12 Chinese Taipei members, with captain Chieh-Shien Chen holding the Premier12 trophy. The back face is engraved with “Global Champions Premier12”, “1/2 oz”, “Ag 999”, and “2024.11.24”, featuring images of three players catching, hitting, and pitching.
“We understand the expectations of the general public, and it took us about seven months to complete the process of licensing, design, and casting,” said Central Bank’s Department of Issuing Director General Yen-Dar Den in a press conference unveilling the coins. “We have visited the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association, Chinese Professional Baseball League, and the World Baseball Softball Confederation and obtained the authorisations to produce the coins before we proceed with the design by our Central Mint.”
Den also stated that the progress of the plan to issue a “Premier12 NT500 banknote” is still being reviewed, as the bills are used very frequently in daily lives and will have a broad impact.
It isn’t the first time for the Central Bank to issue baseball-themed commemorative coins. A total of 125,000 commemorative coins were issued in 2001 when the WBSC Baseball World Cup was held in Taipei City. Chinese Taipei won the bronze medal by defeating Japan with two home runs from Chin-Feng Chen.
