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 Dollars Military Payment Certificate
| Issuer | United States Department of Defense |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954-1958 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | 27 May 1958 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central intaglio vignette of a classical allegorical woman standing in an ornate oval cartouche, holding a flower basket, set against a multicolor guilloche underprint in blue and pink. Denomination numerals appear in each corner, with serial number and series designation printed to either side of the central vignette. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio bust portrait of a classical allegorical woman with laurel-wreathed hair set within an ornate oval cartouche, printed in blue over a dense pink guilloche underprint. Denomination numerals occupy each corner, with the title legend along the top border and usage restriction text along the bottom. |
| 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 were introduced after World War II specifically to prevent U.S. military currency from leaking into local black markets and destabilizing host-nation economies — a real problem in occupied Germany and Japan where earlier scrip arrangements had failed. The MPC system allowed the military to periodically call in all outstanding certificates and replace them with a new series on short notice, a process called a "conversion day," during which personnel had a matter of hours to exchange their holdings. Anyone caught off-base, on leave, or otherwise absent forfeited their currency entirely.
Series 521, which covers this period, circulated primarily in Japan, Korea, and occupied Ryukyu Islands. The tight conversion mechanism meant off-base hoarding by locals was a constant cat-and-mouse game with military authorities.