1 Cent Wheeler PoW Camp

Camp Wheeler, outside Macon, Georgia, operated as a U.S. Army infantry training post and held Axis prisoners of war — primarily German — under the Geneva Convention framework that required detaining powers to provide canteen access for POWs. These fractional camp scrip notes exist because American currency was not permitted in POW compound canteens; the scrip system allowed prisoners to spend their labor credits without handling U.S. coin or notes that could theoretically assist an escape attempt.

Denominations this small point to a canteen economy built around tobacco, soap, and small sundries. The 1-cent value is among the most fragile survivors of the Wheeler series.