Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Cents Koruniat Island
| Issuer | DesPac Officers' Club, Koruniat Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944-1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper (grey) |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Plain grey paper with black letterpress print throughout. Issuer name in two lines at top, large numeral '5' with 'CENTS' to the right in the centre, and cautionary text at the base. No vignette or decorative underprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Koruniat Island DesPac Officers' Club 5 CENTS Void if Detached |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
DesPac — Destroyer Pacific — was the informal designation for destroyer forces operating out of various Southwest Pacific bases during the later stages of the war. Officers' clubs at remote island installations routinely issued their own scrip to manage canteen and bar transactions, keeping hard currency out of circulation in environments where it would disappear fast. Koruniat Island sits off the coast of New Britain; by 1944 it was within the Allied operational zone following the isolation of the main Japanese garrison at Rabaul.
These club issues were never officially sanctioned by any military finance authority, which is precisely why so few survive — they were redeemed, discarded, or simply lost when the unit moved on.