1981 Book: Military Payment Certificates by Fred Schwan WWII to Vietnam. Germany

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Terms 1) I am happy to sell to anyone who is able to use the eBay International program, where I ship to their hub in the USA and eBay then sends it on to you. However, if you are outside the USA and buy multiple lots, I cannot send you an invoice and you may have to pay separate s/h for every lot, which is quite expensive. That is beyond my control. 2) Due to eBay's invoicing policies, generally a maximum of 20 items can be put on an invoice. 3) Please wait for me to send an invoice before you pay. I send all items insured or at least with a tracking number. The cost of this is included in the total s/h cost of listed in the ordering information. 4) Wins from the same day will be combined for combined s/h savings, but not for auctions over more than one week. Thanks! 5) I combine postage, so multiple items will be sent together for the higher of the shipping prices quoted. (For example, if you win a banknote with a $4.99 stated s/h rate and a heavier coin set with a $5.49 quoted s/h rate, they will be sent together and your total s/h would be $5.49. 6) I will combine the first 4 wins at the highest quoted price. After 4 wins I will charge an extra 25 cents per item sent at the same time, in addition to the base s/h. 7) Books will likely be sent media rate and may have to be sent separately from non-book items. Ask if you have questions on shipping. This is a great post-WWII military note reference book. Military Payment Certificates- Softcover – by Fred Schwan. About 135 pages, printed 1981. From the Internet: "This book has everything you wanted to know about Military Payment Certificates (MPC) and a lot of information you did not know you wanted to know. It is a must for the beginner as well as the expert. It goes into great depth about the reasons behind the creation and subsequent use of MPC. It details each printing and characteristics of each one. It list information about MPC that cannot be found anywhere else and this can be an advantage to you when shopping for MPC. Whether you have a few pieces of MPC or a complete collection you must have this book. It will make the notes come to life as you read their story. I found this book does not sit on my bookshelf very long as I am pulling it off the shelf frequently." Scan is of the item for auction. Don't miss out! HISTORY: Military payment certificate Military payment certificates, or MPC, was a form of currency used to pay United States (US) military personnel in certain foreign countries in the mid and late twentieth century. They were used in one area or another from a few months after the end of World War II until a few months after the end of U.S. participation in the Vietnam War – from 1946 until 1973. The certificates were made by line lithography to create colorful banknotes that could be produced cheaply. Fifteen series of MPCs were created, but only 13 series were issued. The remaining two were largely destroyed, although some examples remain. Among the 13 released series, a total of 94 notes are recognized. History of MPCs MPCs evolved from Allied Military Currency initially used in Europe during World War II. This was a response to the large amounts of US Dollars circulated by American servicemen in post-World War II Europe. Because the futures of local governments were unclear, the local citizens might not trust local currencies. Because they preferred a stable currency like U.S. dollars, local civilians often accepted payment in dollars for less than the accepted conversion rates. As dollars became more favorable to hold, the local currencies became inflated, thwarting Allied plans to stabilize local economies. Troops paid in dollars found merchants were willing to convert unlimited amounts of US banknotes to the local currency at the floating (black market) conversion rate. It was much more favorable to the GIs than the government fixed conversion rate. Servicemen thus profited from the more favorable exchange rate on the black market. To reduce profiteering from such currency arbitrage, the U.S. military devised the MPC program. MPC were paper money initially denominated in amounts of 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, and $10. A $20 note was added in 1968, during US involvement in the Vietnam War. Unlike US currency, which is issued by the Department of the Treasury, these MPC were issued under the authority of the Department of War (later Department of Defense). Consequently, they do not bear the US Treasury seal found on virtually every example of US civilian currency. MPCs were fully convertible to U.S. dollars when servicemen left a designated MPC zone, and convertible to local currencies when servicemen went on leave (but not vice versa). In order to eliminate U.S. dollars from local economies, it was illegal for unauthorized personnel to possess MPC. Although US greenbacks were not circulating, many local merchants accepted MPC on par with US dollars, since they could use them on the black market. This was especially evident in the late twentieth century during the Vietnam War, when the MPC program was at its zenith. To prevent MPC from being used as a primary currency in the host country and destroying the local currency value and economy, the US frequently changed MPC banknote styles to deter black marketers and reduce hoarding. A "conversion day" or "C-day" was the soldiers' only chance to trade in their old MPC for the new issue, after which the old MPC became worthless. C-days in Vietnam were always classified, never pre-announced. On a C-day, soldiers would be restricted to base, preventing them from helping Vietnamese civilians—especially those associated with local bars and brothels, such as bar girls and other black market people—from converting old MPC to the newer version. Since Vietnamese were not allowed to convert the currency, they frequently lost savings by holding old MPC that lost all value after a C-day was completed. While a total of fifteen different series of MPC were designed in the post-World War II period, only thirteen series were issued between 1946 and 1973. Users often compared MPC to Monopoly game money due to their colors. After the official end of U.S. participation in the Vietnam War in early 1973, the only place where MPC remained in use was South Korea. In autumn of 1973, a surprise C-day was held there, and MPC were retired totally, replaced by greenbacks. MPC were never again issued. Because MPC were not issued as formal obligations of the United States Treasury, they can no longer be redeemed for currency. In the late 1990s, the US Department of Defense implemented a similar but updated concept with the Eagle Cash system. This used a value card system. Such cards were issued to U.S. armed forces in Bosnia, Kosovo, Djibouti, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as other non-combat zones on a limited basis. I have a number of other beautiful postal items, financial documents, banknotes and stock and bond certificates, as well as other historic items currently listed on eBay, so please see my other auctions.