Security Engravers Presentation by MPCUSA

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Thanks for the presentation! I've got a couple questions, maybe you'll know the answers.

So I see WWII notes like these, issued in the USA, denominated in USD, to be used in the European Theatre. Then I see notes also printed by Forbes during WWII, denominated in French Francs, called Allied Military Currency, pictured below:



And then I also see what Pick calls "Government Notes", printed in various other places, most commonly the English note below:



Do you know the story behind these three different sources of banknotes at the time? Were they used for three different purposes, by three different types of military personnel? Were they used by (in this example) the French citizens, who's economy was a mess at the time?

Dave

 

Visual and informative read. The $5 MPC 521 Series colors and engravings by G.F.C. Smillie are some of the most beautiful visual and artistical Military Payment Certificates .

 

I will give you the short version.

MPC were issued for use by US military personnel and other authorized users for use in US military establishments. The purpose of MPC was to allow US personnel to be paid in US dollars but not in a form that would be generally accepted in the host country. It served two main goals -- (1) cut down on blackmarketing by allowing MPC to be converted into the local currency but not the other way around, and (2) protect the local economy by preventing the US dollar from supplanting the local currency in commerce. MPC was initiated because the amount of dollars being sent home by US military personnel in Europe and Japan immediately after WWII was greater than the aggregate amount of pay. In other words, more money was coming into the US from the theaters than was being sent out. That was bad.

Allied Military Currency (AMC lire, yen, marks and schillings) was issued in occupied countries and bears the denomination of the local currency. It also seved two purposes. First, as with all occupation currencies, it forced the occupied country to paythe cost of the occupation. AMC was paid out to locals for requisitioned goods, salaries for local employees of the military government and for US troop pay in the occupied countries. Because occupation currency is legal tender in the occupied country, the occupied country is responsible for redeeming the currency issued by the occupier. The US learned a disastrous lesson after WWI where occupation currency was not used. The Axis powers also used occupation currency, most notably the Japanese Invasion Money.

While AMC and MPC were issued at the same time in some countries, they were for entirely different purposes. Some people say that MPC was derived from AMC. This is entirely untrue.

The franc notes you pictured are a different story altogether. Allied military personnel during the war were paid in the local currency. When the Allies were preparing for the Normandy invasion, they possessed insufficient stock of French paper money to issue to the troops. The temporary fix was to print their own francs for use in France. These are the supplemental franc notes printed by Forbes of which the two franc is an example.

While these notes look like the AMC occupation currency issued in Germany, Italy, etc., the French notes were not occupation currency. The Allied countries that issued these notes to their troops set up an account to credit the post-war French government with the equivalent in their own country's currency of the amount of francs issued. In other words, the other Allies paid the French for the franc notes each country issued. There was considerable controversy when these notes were first issued. Degaulle refused to sanction them and they were issued by the authority of General Eisenhower as the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. They were accepted by the French populace and were eventually made legal tender by DeGaulle in August 1944. The supplemental francs circulated side by side with the Bank of France notes issued before and during the war.

The 500 franc note was printed in Britain for the French after the war. They were done by the English printers because the Bank of France was unable to print sufficient currency on their own because of a lack of materiel. They have no military significance.

 

Lettow,I've learned a lot from that explantion,I have one Half Mark AMC & now know the difference ,thanks for that explantation ,there could be a subject for a presentation there.

 

Yes, thanks very much for the detailed explanation!

Dave

 

I would like to express my many thanks to both RickieB and Connor1 for there
Help!! In bringing you my presentation!!

 

That five is one that has so far eluded capture from mine clutches, though I do have a note that indeed was an earlier creation by GFC Smillie:

​

 

Very nice presentation mpcusa. Since you're a dealer in mpc's I was wondering what series sells the most and also what mpc note is the most popular?

Lou

 

Hey Lou,

To answer your question, The most popular would probably be the Series 681
Which feature submarines on the fractionals and a pilot and jets on the $1 and
$20 and serviceman on the $5 and $10 with a tank, Its still a very affordable!!

As far as what sell the most i would say the Series 661, Very affordable except
The $10 and $20 which can run you big bucks depending on grade!!

 

I think I diverge in MPC's, I don't want Marines, Pilots, or tanks etc. I want lovely feminine visages:eat:

 

Thank you for the information mpcusa. I only have 3 mpc's from the United States at this time, one is a series 521 5 cents and 2 641 5 and 10 cents notes. I also have 3 mpc's from Great Britain.

Lou

 

Very informative MPCUSA and Lettow.
I enjoyed the read and history behind some of these issues.
I must say there is a certain "beauty" to some of these notes as well.

Excellent feedback on this thread and an interesting topic.

RickieB

 

My Avatar is actually a really rare note from that Series 661, $10 and has a
Value of $3,200 to $3,400 dollars

 

mpcusa...

I love that vignette on that note.
I hope you do not mind me posting a version of it that was used on the $20 National Bank Notes? It is a lovely image...without rescanning, which I cant due to the note being in the Bank Vault, I enlarged this all I could as not to distort the resolution of 72 pixels which is tiny..




RickieB

 

​

 

If you wish to expand your mpc collection i have both the Series 521 and 641 Fractionals in stock, At very affordable prices!

 

Very nice presentation and nice notes. The MPCs make a nice area of banknotes and I've considered using them as my entry into an actual banknote collection, vs what I do.

 

Mpc,s are a great piece of "paper money" history and prices
For most of them are still very reasonable! As a dealer in both
Raw and graded mpc i can offer you some great deals!

 

Hooked on Eagle Vignettes on any type of engravings

I wasn't looking to shop for a MPC but MPCUSA knows how much I love Eagle Vignettes & made me a deal that was just to good to turn down,so I broke down & haven't regreted ,beautiful colors & Vignette