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1 Yen - P.O.W. Canteen Ticket
| Issuer | Taiwan Prisoner of War Camp (臺灣俘虜收容所) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1945 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in red on plain paper, the obverse is framed by a decorative border of repeated geometric cross-stitch pattern motifs. The large denomination characters 壹圓券 (One Yen Voucher) are set centrally in bold Chinese script, with an oval red handstamp applied to the right. The issuing authority inscription 臺灣俘虜收容所酒保購入券 (Taiwan Prisoner of War Camp Canteen Purchase Ticket) appears at the foot, with a serial number line at the top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 發行第3397號 壹圓券 臺灣俘虜收容所酒保購入券 |
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| Comments |
These canteen tickets were issued by Japanese-administered POW camps in Taiwan to Allied prisoners — primarily British, Australian, and Dutch servicemen captured after the fall of Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. The scrip system was partly designed to satisfy the requirements of the 1929 Geneva Convention, which obligated detaining powers to provide canteen access and pay for officer labor. Whether those obligations were meaningfully honored is another matter entirely.
The handstamp is the only authentication device, applied at the individual camp level, which is why surviving examples vary considerably in ink color and stamp clarity. Forgery within the camps was documented — prisoners occasionally produced counterfeit scrip to obtain extra provisions.
S&B#2065 is among the most historically charged pieces in any Pacific War scrip collection.