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 Pusan; NCO Open Mess
| Issuer | U.S. Army Pusan NCO Open Mess |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950-1955 |
| Type | Vouchers |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Letterpress-printed voucher on green paper stock with black text arranged in two panels: a left panel bearing the unit and location inscriptions with a warning notice, and a bold right panel displaying the denomination numeral. Red serial number appears in the lower left area; cancellation perforations visible across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | U.S. ARMY PUSAN N.C.O. OPEN MESS A.P.O. 96259 NOT GOOD IF DETACHED 5 CENTS |
| 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 |
Military Payment Certificates and base scrip occupied parallel but distinct roles in postwar Korea. This Pusan NCO Open Mess chit belongs to the latter category — local scrip issued by a specific non-commissioned officers' club rather than by U.S. Armed Forces Finance, meaning it circulated only within that one establishment and carried no redemption obligation beyond the mess itself.
The Korean War years placed Pusan under enormous logistical pressure; the city functioned as the primary UN supply port throughout the conflict. Club scrip of this period was a practical tool against black market leakage of U.S. currency into the local economy — a genuine problem that drove widespread adoption of internal script systems at American installations across the peninsula.
Surviving examples from this specific mess are genuinely uncommon.