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Military Payment Certificates (MPC) evolved from Allied Military Currency as a response to the large amounts of US Dollars circulated by American servicemen in post-World War II Europe. The local citizens might not trust local currencies as the future of their governments was unclear.
To reduce profiteering from currency arbitrage, the US military devised the MPC program. MPCs were paper money denominated in amounts of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, and starting in 1968 20 dollars. MPCs were fully convertible to US dollars upon leaving a designated MPC zone and convertible to local currencies when going on leave (but not vice-versa), and were illegal for unauthorized personnel to possess, thus, in theory, eliminating US dollars from local economies.
After the Vietnam War MPC was never again issued (there had been 6 series used during Viet Nam), and the concept lay dormant until the late '90s when it was replaced by a “Stored Value Card” system, presently used by U.S. armed forces in Iraq.
THANK YOU Richard Huber!
This Series 472 Series Military Payment Coupon:
25¢ Coupon
Issued: March 22, 1948 Withdrawn: June 20, 1951
Areas Issued: Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Philippines, Ryukyus, Scotland, Trieste, and Yugoslavia.
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