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5 Cents Camp Forrest; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Camp Forrest Prisoner of War Camp Canteen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1946 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Cents (0.05 USD) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PRISONER OF WAR CAMP CANTEEN CAMP FORREST, TENN. Not valid for merchandise purchases after 25 June, 1945 NOT TRANSFERABLE 5 CENTS |
| Reverse description | Plain buff paper, unprinted on the face side; the serial number bleeds through from the obverse and appears in mirror image at the lower centre, a consequence of the ink impression through the thin paper stock. |
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| Comments |
Camp Forrest, near Tullahoma, Tennessee, operated as one of the largest POW facilities in the American South, holding primarily German and Italian prisoners transferred from North Africa after the Allied campaigns of 1943. The canteen scrip issued there — including this 5-cent denomination — was a deliberate policy instrument: under the Geneva Convention, POWs were entitled to purchase goods, but the U.S. military needed currency that could not be spent off-camp or hoarded as escape funds.
Campbell's reference number for this piece reflects how seriously collectors now treat American POW camp issues, which were produced in small quantities, used hard, and rarely preserved by anyone with a reason to keep them.