Mpc Series 681 PCGS Registry Set At The Top!!

Boy am i excited about this after months of searching i just found the
Note that put me over the top and in to the number one slot for this
Set at PCGS, Iam actually tied we both have a set rating of 69.74 even
Though we got to that number differently, I cant wait to find my
Next one, Here,s my complete Series 681 #1 rated PCGS set:yes:

 

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These are some really beautiful notes!

 

Congrats on such a nice collection. I have a few of these mpc's but mine are no where close to the condition of yours.

 

Primo!!!:thumb:

 

Totally boss! Congrats Rusty!!!

 

Those are amazing notes! Congrats on you accomplishments!

 

Rusty...

Congrats my friend! Top Notch mpc's...
If I were to ever add these to the collection it would be this type of condition.

Beauties, all of em.

Rick

 

Rusty, congratulations. It's a wonderful set. I'm guessing the quest will continue until you find an even higher grade for one of the notes. Enjoy it. I've certainly enjoyed seeing this set.

 

Nice set. I have one that's low grade from some series.

 

Thanks guy,s for all the great comments these are truly hard to find in these grades
I still have a little room to grow but the populations are so low when you get to 67 and
68 as a matter of fact the key to the series the $20 note has a population of 1!!!!
Talk about a tuff get !!

 

those are nice, i really love the one with the tank!

 

Very Nice!!
Congrates on the set!!

After looking I thought I had an upgrade for you but it was the wrong series and mine was a Series 641 Dime PCGS in 68 and not the 681.

 

Spectacular! Absolutely spectacular!!!

It makes me cry when I recall all of those beauties that slipped through my fingers and I didn't save enough to make a complete set. We cursed what everyone called get-out-of-jail money or funny money. It never seemed "real" enough to us to have serious value and no one considered that it would have value in the future. To us, the future was to survive Nam and returning home to the "real" world where we could earn and spend "real" money.

As fate would have it, I was in the Mekong Delta when Series 681 was issued - 11AUG69. The unannounced change from Series 661 to 681 caught all by surprise and panic ensued. You had 24-hours to change your MPCs and were limited to $1,000.00. per person. There were many poker players who held sizable winnings and they lost their fortunes overnight. Some took to heavy drinking to drown their sorrows and became so unreliable that they placed others in danger as well as themselves. Since we slept with our weapons and kept a round chambered, no one trusted a drunk --- alcohol and gunpowder don't mix.

Uncontrollable panic took place among the local nationals. Many had accepted and hoarded MPC as it didn't devalue as rapidly as the Vietnamese money did in an inflationary prone, wartime economy. As a result, those who could no longer meet their obligations started showing-up in the streets at room temperature. To prevent our GIs from being torn apart by angry crowds, they were restricted to their fortified US bases. Once things returned to what seemed like normal, the GIs were turned loose and their free-spending ways fueled the start of another inflationary cycle.

If memory serves correctly, PX prices were:
$2.00 for a carton of smokes.
$2.00 for a quart of the "hard stuff".
75-cents for a haircut.
At a club - 25-cents for a can of beer
35-cents for a mixed drink

The clubs had ice, so it was a treat to drink cold ones while watching the movies they played nightly. The Army used choppers to airlift pallets of beer to us when on overnight operations in contested territory. We were limited to two cans each and drank it warm. Those who were freshly wounded could have a third can, as long as they didn't have a serious chest and/or were gut wounded --- all they were allowed were IV drips. The issued beer was free, lifted our morale [someone cared] and tasted great, back then. Today, whenever I'm asked what's my favorite beer, I always answer "COLD- kine!"

Just sharing a few memories that were gained from having used MPCs while in-country. Experienced using Series 641, 661 and 681. I stupidly didn't save enough of any of them. "So soon we get old and so late we get smart."

 

Nice story

 

Yes, that is an excellent story. Now instead of these notes being just pretty pieces of paper, they have a bit of history attached to them. Whenever, I see a military note, I'll remember this story. Thank you!

 

Great story Dick! Thanks for taking the time to write it for us.

 

Dick, What a great story!! Though i was never in the Military born a little to late for Vietnam
And to old for any other war, iam a avid collector of anything to do with Korea and
Vietnam though i dont quite understand why out of all the Mpc printed the Series 681 is
The only one depicting all branches of service??? No other series has anything that relates
To war go figure!!

 

Dick, thanks very much for telling the story. It's great to hear a first-hand story like this!

Dave

 

OK, guys, thanks for the positive feedback. Kept the story short to avoid hijacking the thread, or appearance thereof.

We have other Nam vets on this site. Because they were there, they have stories to tell, also. All we have to do is figure out a way to get them to share their experiences. Maybe, just maybe, all we have to do is ask.

MPCUSA, I thoroughly identify with you and your interest in collecting military boy-toys. My collection includes something from each war our magnificent nation was involved in. I'm not certain about 1812, though. Thanks for pointing out the fact that MPC Series 681 is the only series that reflects a military theme. That is a detail that had not registered and it is, indeed, curious. As you say, "go figure."

Experienced one use for MPCs that will not be found in the instruction manual and that is for leach removal. In the flooded rice paddies, rivers, streams and canals of the Mekong Delta, there were always leaches. Leaches were anywhere and everywhere, and as a Grunt, you couldn't escape them. Your body heat served as a magnet and the slimy, little suckers [pun intended] always went for the warmest place on your body, your crotch. We carefully tucked our fatigues trousers into our boots and used an extra pair of boot laces to wrap around our legs, just above the calf muscle and below the knee, to prevent leach entry to our upper body portions. But the suckers are small when hungry and slipped by our best defenses. At first, you just don't know they are there. Once attached, their saliva contains an anti-coagulant that allows them to keep feeding until they become gorged and fall off. The wound they create keeps seeping long after they are gone, then becomes itchy and when scratched with dirty fingernails, becomes infected.

Some guys, the newer arrivals, would use bug juice [insect repellent] to squirt on the feeding leaches. This caused the leach to react violently and it would regurgitate a putrid mixture of you own blood and its saliva into the wound as it retracted. A nasty, painful infection was certain.

Heat, slowly applied, was the best method for leach removal. When it became uncomfortable, the leach would simply release itself and fall away. To save their smokes for relaxed pleasure, the GIs would take a MPC note and fold it corner-to-corner lengthwise, rolled it tightly, give it a couple of twists and dip one end into a can of gun oil. Everyone carried a trusty Zippo, even the nonsmokers and those who chewed. When burned, the oil soaked MPC note acted like a smoky punk stick and lasted long enough to free yourself from being the host to those bloated, creepy bloodsuckers. We never gave a thought about wasting a couple of dollars to get the leaches gone. If we had had them, we would have gladly used $100 bills for the same purpose. Anything to get rid of the leaches, anything!

Message to the Thought Police --- this is not, I say again, this is not a story about leaches, it is about lowly infantrymen, driven by desperation, using MPCs to preserve both their health and their sanity.

 

Great job Rusty,

The five dollar note might be my favorite image. Not sure. Wow.

So what do you think of Honolulu Dick's special memories. Get a copy of it if possible. I bet each series has its own stories out there some where. Wow on the story, as it gave more life/blood to the notes.

Lovely collection. Congratulations. You will make the kids proud someday to have such a collection.