10 Cents Fort Amador; Canal Zone

Fort Amador sat on the Pacific entrance to the Canal Zone, and its NCO Open Mess scrip existed entirely to keep dollars on the base. The U.S. military used post scrip throughout the Zone to prevent American currency from leaking into the Panamanian economy — a persistent headache given the Balboa's one-to-one peg with the dollar and the porous boundary between garrison and city.

The perforation served as a cancellation mechanism, not a security feature in any conventional sense. Redeemed notes were punched and voided rather than destroyed outright, which is why most survivors show the holes.