5 Cents Navy Yard; Pearl Harbor

Military scrip issued at Pearl Harbor in 1942 carries obvious weight — the attack had occurred just months before, the base was still in active recovery, and controlling currency flow within the yard was a security priority as much as a logistical one. Officers' Club chits like this one were designed to keep money circulating internally, preventing local Hawaiian currency from leaving the base or falling into unaccountable hands during a period of martial law, which Hawaiians were living under from December 1941 through October 1944.

These low-denomination pieces were printed in small runs and rarely survived the war intact.