I have a Master’s degree in history but a person can’t know everything. If everyone relied on Google this forum would no longer exist.
I’m just curious if it’s worth saving them? Like if one of the $5 silver certificates is worth $6-$7 then it’s worth keeping and not spending. But if it’s only worth $5 then there is no point in saving it.
As a broad average, they’re worth approximately double face. Please let me know if you decide you’re going to spend them. Just about every member here would be thrilled to find these in the wild, at face value.
While yellow seal dollars may have been legal tender in Italy until 1945, they were only issued during the initial invasion. This was also true in North Africa. Yellow seals were used only to pay US military personnel during the early part of the campaign. They were referred to as spearhead currency. This was necessary in Italy for operational security. The Allied Military Lire notes did not receive their final printing including the denomination and country of issue until immediately before the invasion occurred. This was to prevent German agents in the US from finding out that Italian money was being printed. The AMC lire notes were still in the US when Sicily was invaded. Once there was a foothold and sufficient stocks of AMC lire were in country, the yellow seal dollars stopped being paid out by the finance offices. British Military Authority notes were used in a similar fashion.
Are you talking about the circulated blue seal silver certificates? I know the higher grade stuff can sell for 20x face value. Like this one:
Small premium on those notes from post #19. The 2's are worth around $3. The $5's around 7-8 maybe more depending on condition and rarity. The ones maybe 1.50 each.
Thanks! That’s exactly the info I was looking for! Sounds like I should keep them then and just use regular, modern bills instead of spending these at face value. I have 3x $5 I have 4x $2 & I have 3x $1 Altogether that’s $26 face value so maybe I can find someone who will pay $30 for all of them or something like that.
Some info concerning your yellow seal notes: During World War II the United States issued special currency to Troops in the North Africa campaign. The North Africa Notes were offered in 3 denominations: One Dollar, Five Dollar, and Ten Dollar. The One Dollar Bills are Silver Certificates and were issued in 1935 (Series 1935A). The Five Dollar Bills are also Silver Certificates issued in 1934 (Series 1934A). The Ten Dollar Bills are also Silver Certificates issued in 1934 (Series 1934 and 1934A) . All North Africa Notes feature a Yellow seal. These Notes were issued as pay to all military personnel involved in the North Africa campaign. The US decided to do this in case of a German take-over. They wanted to protect the American currency supply in the region. The US Government could immediately declare North Africa Notes worthless if they fell into hands of the Germans.---www.collectons.com I had a great uncle that started out his service during the North Africa campaign. When my father & self were going through stuff after his mom passed, we came across a letter from her brother that said in part, "I will try to send you some money soon. Payday here is like at home. Everyone has a hand out for your greenbacks. Our pay script has different colors, but still spends the same." Just over 107,305 Americans served to occupy North Africa (US Army, Navy, Marines and Army Air Corps) during and after "Operation Torch" They all were paid in "yellow seal notes". Another bit of info that might interest you is @ the following: http://oldcurrencyvalues.com/1_North_Africa_Star/
The notes were not issued at the dates of the series (1934,1935). The United States did not know they were going to need them in 1934 & 1935. They were issued later, during WWII.
No US coin had legal tender in Italy, but silver coins were probably accepted by the people, silver is always welcome in wartime, everywhere petronius