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1 Cent Rupert; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Prisoner of War Camp Canteen, Rupert, Idaho |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1946 |
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| Currency | Dollar (1785-date) |
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| Obverse description | Blue letterpress print on cream paper; left panel bears the canteen inscription in capital letters above a red typeset serial number. Right panel contains a numeral '1' within a decorative vignette, with 'CENT' below and a cautionary legend at the base, all within a ruled border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PRISONER OF WAR CAMP CANTEEN RUPERT, IDAHO 1 CENT NOT GOOD IF DETACHED |
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| Comments |
Rupert, Idaho housed a German prisoner of war camp during World War II, and like many such facilities operating under the Geneva Convention, it ran a canteen system that required its own scrip to prevent prisoners from accumulating U.S. currency. These 1-cent denominations represent the lowest tier of that internal economy — used for small canteen purchases, tobacco, beer on authorized days, and incidental goods.
Camp scrip of this type was produced locally, often by small commercial printers, with no federal oversight of the physical production. Rupert's notes are among the more obscure survivors of the American POW camp currency system; most scrip was destroyed or discarded after repatriation in 1945–46.