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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lettow, post: 2001205, member: 6986&quot;]During WWII, officers were entitled to 30 days leave per year and enlisted men could be granted up to 30 days of furlough per year.&nbsp; When the war ended most officers had accrued but unused leave on the books for which they were due compensation.&nbsp; It was determined that it would be unfair to not compensate enlisted members for unused furlough time.</p><p><br /></p><p>There was no money budgeted for this purpose.&nbsp; The Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946 provided that service members would be compensated for their accrued but unused leave in the form of bonds for amounts due in excess of $50.00.&nbsp; If a service member were due less than $50.00 they received a check.&nbsp; The bonds were in $25.00 increments.&nbsp; The amount due in excess of a $25.00 increment was paid by check.&nbsp; If you were due $298.00, you received an AFLB in the amount of $275.00 and a check in the amount of $23.00.</p><p><br /></p><p>The issue date is the month of the last date of service so it is possible to see issue dates earlier than 1946.</p><p><br /></p><p>The bonds originally matured in five years and earned 2.5%.&nbsp; In late 1947, Congress amended the Act to permit the bonds to be cashed immediately.&nbsp; The deadline for filing claims under the act was September 1948. </p><p><br /></p><p>A 1947 Department of Commerce publication indicated that as of June 30, 1947 there were approximately 8,500,000 AFLB issued having a face value plus accrued interest of approximately $1,838,000,000.00 still outstanding.&nbsp; By that point an additional $54,000,000.00 had been redeemed through death of the service member or applying the amount of the bond to premiums on VA life insurance.</p><p><br /></p><p>All the bonds were printed on Hollerith cards.&nbsp; Bonds issued to Army veterans are usually identifiable because they include the service number (like this one does).&nbsp; There are three different varieties of checks.&nbsp; Checks for the Navy are all printed on Hollerith cards and come from the Navy Bureau of Supplies and Accounts in Cleveland.&nbsp; Bonds for the Army were not issued from a central location and the checks will bear the location of the issuing office and come in two types -- Hollerith cards and paper treasury checks.&nbsp; I will post pictures of the checks when I get home tonight.</p><p><br /></p><p>AFLB were considered scarce at one time with Schwan-Boling citing only one observed example as of 1995.&nbsp; Since then, many more have hit the market as pieces are found usually in the estates of deceased veterans.&nbsp; Prices have settled in the $400.00-500.00 range for bonds.&nbsp; I have never seen a check in the traditional auction market.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some large size note collectors like these for the portrait of Carter Glass.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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