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10 Cents Como PoW Camp
| Issuer | Prisoner of War Camp Canteen, Como, Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1945 |
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| Value | 10 Cents (0.10 USD) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark blue on buff-coloured paper, the obverse is divided into two main sections: the left portion carries the camp and canteen inscriptions in bold letterpress type, with the word CANTEEN enclosed in a bordered panel with decorative end-pieces, and a cautionary legend in small type at lower left; the right portion bears the denomination numeral and unit within a rectangular frame. The red serial number appears at the centre lower portion of the left field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PRISONER OF WAR CAMP CANTEEN COMO, MISSISSIPPI NOT GOOD IF DETACHED 10 CENTS |
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| Comments |
Como was a small town in Panola County, Mississippi, and during the war its POW camp held Axis prisoners — predominantly German — working in the cotton fields under the US Army's Enemy Prisoner of War program. Camp canteen scrip like this was a practical necessity: Geneva Convention rules required that prisoners receive pay for their labor, but US authorities were understandably reluctant to put standard currency into camp circulation. Locally produced scrip, redeemable only at the camp canteen, satisfied the treaty obligation while containing the money within the wire.
Most Mississippi camp issues were printed under improvised conditions, often by local job printers with no experience producing currency. The Cambridge reference for this piece suggests it has been documented and attributed, but Como camp material surfaces rarely enough that provenance tends to be established through camp records rather than numismatic pedigree.