Catalog
1 Dollar Medicine Hat Internment Camp
| Issuer | Medicine Hat Internment Camp (P.O.W. Canteen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1945 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in red on buff-coloured paper stock, this prisoner-of-war canteen voucher bears the denomination $1.00 in large bold letterpress at centre, flanked by a vertical serial number along the right margin. The issuing authority and canteen designation are inscribed in capital letters across the lower portion, with the printer's imprint at the base. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | GOOD FOR $1.00 P.O.W. CANTEEN MEDICINE HAT INTERNMENT CAMP BULMAN BROS. LTD., WPG. |
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| Comments |
Medicine Hat, Alberta held one of Canada's largest prisoner-of-war camps during the Second World War, eventually housing over 12,000 German and Italian POWs — at its peak, the third-largest "German city" in North America by population. Canteen scrip like this note was a practical necessity: Ottawa prohibited camps from issuing standard currency to prisoners, so purpose-printed scrip restricted spending to authorized canteen goods and prevented hoarded cash from financing escape attempts.
Bulman Bros. of Winnipeg printed scrip for several Canadian POW installations during the war years. The Medicine Hat series is among the more frequently encountered of these issues, a direct consequence of the camp's exceptional size.