1 Penny Camp 12; Cowra PoW Camp

Cowra Camp 12 was one of several Australian prisoner of war facilities that issued internal camp scrip to allow inmates to make small purchases at the canteen without handling Australian legal tender. The denomination structure — including this 1 Penny piece — mirrors civilian currency but carried no value outside the wire.

Cowra is better remembered for the August 1944 breakout, when over 1,000 Japanese prisoners rushed the perimeter in the largest PoW escape of the Pacific theatre. Camp scrip issued before and after that event came from the same facility, though the administrative disruption was considerable.