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5 Dollars Military Payment Certificate
| Issuer | United States Department of Defense |
|---|---|
| Year | 1969-1973 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1785-date) |
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| Obverse description | Brown intaglio on light blue guilloche underprint. Central vignette of a woman's portrait within an octagonal lathe-work frame, flanked by two teal-tinted panels; a Roman soldier vignette stands at left. Numeral 5 appears at all four corners, with series and serial number printed in black. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | FOR USE ONLY IN UNITED STATES MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS - BY UNITED STATES AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE RULES AND REGULATIONS FIVE DOLLARS * FIVE DOLLARS MILITARY PAYMENT CERTIFICATE |
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| Comments |
Military Payment Certificates were issued to U.S. military personnel and authorized civilians stationed overseas specifically to prevent black-market dealings in local economies — soldiers could not legally exchange MPC for local currency at face value, and local nationals were barred from holding them. The system worked imperfectly. MPC conversions, known as "C-Day" events, were conducted without warning, requiring all personnel to exchange their holdings within hours. Anyone caught off-cycle — including black-market operators and local civilians who had accumulated MPC illegally — simply lost their money.
Series 692, which this note belongs to, ran from 1969 and was withdrawn in 1973 following the drawdown of U.S. forces in Vietnam. That conflict was the primary theater for this series.