１９９９年版台幣千元鈔地球儀印相反 Taiwan's 1999 $1000 bill globe reversed

講 1999 之前，先講… Before we talk about 1999, first let's talk about...

２００４「九十三年製版」

２００４「九十三年製版」新台幣一千元紙鈔主題圖案中地球儀已改用外星人另一個地球，認不出其虛擬洲塊。「這樣應該不再出錯吧」，本地地球不敢再碰。

In the 2004 issue of the New Taiwan dollar (NT$)1000 bill, we see the globe has now become various unrecognizable virtual landmasses... some other planet. "This time we won't blow it again." Can't deal with the real earth, evidently.

重回細查，發現地球被轉至東經140度，能製 KML 檔。

Upon further inspection we find the globe has been now rotated to the 140th meridian east, and can make a KML file.

那末小朋友手今指哪兒？看起來較像復活節島。

So where are the kids pointing to now? From the looks of it, Easter Island.

１９９９「八十八年製版」

但１９９９「八十八年製版」鈔裡，小朋友們在看哪裡？首先可以確定他們不指著台灣，而指著地球儀赤道線之下方的南半球某處。這本身沒有什麼不對，我們地圖愛好者覺得不對的是那個地球儀的圖案好像被左右反轉置於鈔票上。必須再把他反過來才符合事實。

However in the 1999 banknote, where are the kids pointing at? It can't be Taiwan, it's clearly below the equator line, in the Southern Hemisphere. Nothing illegal about that. Not OK is that we map enthusiasts found that the picture of the globe was mirror-reversed by the designers... and must be flipped back again before it matches reality.

請注意朝鮮半島，日本，中國東北。 Your attention is directed to the Korean peninsula, Japan, and N.E. China. 我們的黑筐吻合鈔票之紫畫。 Our black outline fits perfectly the bill's purple portrait.

設計廠一次反轉加上我一次反轉才恢復原來地球的樣子。 One reversal by the designers plus one reversal by me when added together gives back the original appearance of the globe.

我們是快速套用兩塊國界層針對中國及非洲。中國境內依慣例仍劃得包含蒙古與俄羅斯的圖瓦自治共和國等等。（下次用地形圖也可避免政治）

We have just quickly stretched two boundary outline blocks on top of the globe for our areas of focus. One also notes that the version of China's boundaries is the habitual version used by the Taiwan government to this day, that includes within China the present day Mongolia, and Russia's Tuvinskaya Autonomous Republic, etc. (If they used a physical globe, they could also avoid such political issues.)

但是我仍大為肯定，此鈔說不定是全世界最具地理及地圖主題的鈔票！

However I am still very enthusiastic about this bill: perhaps it's the world's most geographic/cartographically oriented bill!

簡單的說，取張新千元鈔，看到熟悉的中國秋海棠白色的樣子，只是朝鮮半島跑到其左。

Simply stated, pull out a new $1000 bill, see the familiar white map of China? But wait, what's the Korean peninsula doing to its left?

不承認 Denials

那天我發現台幣一千元鈔地球儀印反轉，發行局長一天開兩次記者會否認。如果承認，他就必須把壞鈔通通收回重印（大概自動辨偽系統不好設定接受兩個版本等等）。現行制度下，承認任何錯誤錯鈔就必須通通收回才必須一一否認。當然每小錯就通通收回很浪費，所以如果可以承認錯誤但不一定要因此改版是最好的辦法，可免一邊感謝民眾找瑕疵一邊一一否認。

Do you know what happened the day I discovered the new Taiwan $1000 bill got the globe backwards? Well, the chief had to call two press conferences the same day to deny it. You see if he admitted it then he must recall all the bad bills and print new ones (I suppose not to confuse counterfeit detection systems with multiple versions). Under the current practice, there is no choice to admit errors without revising the note. Therefore each error must be refuted. It is obviously a big waste to recall all the notes upon each error discovered. Therefore I wish the chief was allowed to admit errors without then having to change the printng. Don't thank the public for looking for mistakes, and then deny each one found.

三角形 Triangle

２００４版起三角形不見，比公開修改較有面子，亦避免萬一又修錯。

As of the 2004 edition, the triangle is now gone. Less embarrassing than publicly correcting it, or probably fixing it for the worse.

1999版新台幣千元鈔右上角之三角形 NT$1000 upper right corner triangle

記者問我有沒有注意到右邊的男孩頭上三角形，橫、直兩邊同為一公分長，上角竟然表示為「６０」度。大概設計的人的意思是「我們在複製課本上的考試題，不見得已經寫了答案」（？）有人告訴我該三角形原為立體，現在平面看當然不一樣，好像也有可能，但號碼沒跟著變形。

A reporter asked me if I noticed the triangle above the boy to the right. The horizontal and vertical legs are both one centimeter, however the upper angle is labeled "60" degrees. I suppose the designer's idea is "I am reproducing quiz questions from a school book, they don't necessarily have the answers already on them." I was also told that originally this was a three-dimensional figure, so of course now looking in two dimensions it would look different. This is indeed a possibility. One notes that the numbers, however, are not distorted...

顯微鏡的鈕通常在該側嗎？ Is the microscope's wheel usually on that side?

媒體報導 Press coverage

２０００．９．１４各報標題：

央行近午記者會澄清新版千元鈔券爭議案（中國時報）
新版千元鈔又惹風波地球儀左右錯置？央行出面澄清（明日報）
「﹝局長﹞吳紹起認為，網路上流傳的說法，應該是有人已經先假想圖案是哪一洲，然後再發現與事實的圖案不符，就說是左右反轉，事實上鈔券上的圖案是無法確認的，所以也無左右反轉的問題。」（東森新聞報）
央行：新千元鈔地球儀沒反（聯合報）
還有聯合報１４、１５日理財版。（１５日報導中，台大地理系賴進貴教授也提到：巧合，相片中孩子都﹝變﹞左撇子… Taiwan Univ. Geography Dept. Prof. Jinn-Guey Lay also points out what a coincidence, the kids are all [now] left handed...）

６０００萬張的「假鈔」，你有幾張？（數位周刊２０００．９．２３）

其他 Etc.

Ｆｒｏｍ： 發行局 ＜ｉｓｓｕｅ＠ｍａｉｌ。ｃｂｃ。ｇｏｖ。ｔｗ＞
Ｔｏ： 積丹尼 ２０００．９．１５

新版新台幣壹仟元券主題圖案係表達「教育」之「小學生上課」圖案─學生觀察地球儀，由於圖案內之地球儀面積甚小，且為雕刻凹版線條，故雕刻線條僅能表達地球儀，無法明確繪製洲洋之地理位置。

網有說：

台灣開始重視天文及一般教育。那張鈔票的重點是上頭的天文望遠鏡。可惜，該望遠鏡是日本廠商製造的… Ｖ牌的ｇｐ級… 更可惜的是望遠鏡配重〔？〕調好，大概只是純擺飾… 鈔票上的赤道儀重錘位置不對

１０／２００１：郵票、紙幣已改了，那麼為什麼新二十元硬幣仍將國號由右而左寫呢？