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| Issuer | N.C.O. Open Mess, Fort Amador |
|---|---|
| Year | 1963-1969 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 51 x 23 mm |
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| Obverse description | Pink paper with black letterpress text arranged in two panels: the left bearing the issuer name, location, and cautionary inscription in black, with a red serial number below; the right panel enclosed in a ruled border displays the denomination in bold numerals. Cancellation perforations are present across the face. |
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| Obverse lettering | N.C.O. OPEN MESS FORT AMADOR CANAL ZONE NOT GOOD IF DETACHED 10 CENTS |
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| Comments |
Fort Amador sat on the Pacific entrance to the Canal Zone, and its NCO Open Mess operated a scrip system to keep dollars cycling within the base economy rather than leaking into Panamanian circulation — a persistent concern for U.S. military administrators throughout the Canal Zone's history. This note is among the smaller-denomination pieces from that system, used for canteen and mess transactions where exact change in federal currency was impractical.
The perforation security feature is characteristic of privately-run military club scrip of this period, added to discourage counterfeiting of what were, functionally, small-value tokens with real purchasing power on base.