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!
Beer ration chit Midway Islands
| Issuer | United States Navy, Midway Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1945 |
| 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 | Small rectangular ration chit printed in red and green on cream-coloured paper. The border consists of a red decorative frame with ornamental scroll devices at each corner and a dotted inner rule. Central text reads "1 - JUNE - 1" in large green letterpress, with "ONE BEER RATION CHIT" below, flanked by a five-pointed star. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MIDWAY ISLAND 1-JUNE-1 ONE BEER ★ RATION CHIT |
| 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 |
The U.S. Navy operated a strict alcohol policy on Midway — general consumption was prohibited, but brass recognized the morale cost of a dry posting on an isolated atoll in the middle of the Pacific. The solution was a rationed beer allowance, administered through locally-produced chits that authorized the holder to draw a set number of cans. These are not banknotes in any formal sense, but they circulated as a secondary medium of exchange among enlisted men, traded for favors, extra duties, and contraband items the Navy would rather not have documented.
Midway's significance after June 1942 made it a permanent, heavily garrisoned installation rather than a temporary forward base, which is why the ration system became formalized enough to require printed chits at all.