1968–1969 $1 MPC Series 661 Note Choice Uncirculated

Authentic Military “Money” From The Vietnam War!  

For troops serving in Vietnam, a Military Payment Certificate (MPC) is as iconic a symbol of their time overseas as their dog tags, combat boots and C-rations. They were the notes used to American military personnel serving outside the United States as a medium of exchange. Changing fairly frequently, the notes contained beautiful designs that would be a welcome addition to any paper currency collection.

Issued Only To Military Personnel

This Series 661 $1 note was used from October 21, 1968 to August 11, 1969, and displays Lady Liberty on the front and Mount Rainier on the back, both in a vibrant blue and purple coloring. Unlike standard U.S. currency, these notes were issued only to soldiers serving overseas, and were created to be tightly controlled and demonetized at a moment’s notice. This series included Five Cent, Ten Cent, Twenty-Five Cent, Fifty Cent, One Dollar, Five Dollar, 10 Dollar, and 20 Dollar certificates. Each circulated for only a short period of time, and most were destroyed—but not all! Now, after more than 50 years, not only have we managed to acquire a small number of authentic 1968–1969 MPC $1 notes, but they are in Choice Uncirculated condition!

A Weapon Against The Black Market

As anyone who has served overseas knows, GIs were forbidden from using MPC notes off base. But when they discovered they could exchange MPC notes for several times their value with local merchants, many GIs fell victim to temptation—they’d even have relatives send cash from home, convert it to MPC notes and then make a killing in local trade! To flush out the worst offenders and their black market partners, the Brass would periodically carry out sudden cancellations of existing MPC currency, replacing it with new issues. When C-Day (Conversion Day) arrived unannounced, troops were confined to base to prevent contact with the locals. Neither soldiers nor the locals wanted to get stuck with worthless money, creating an incentive not to hoard these notes.

Once exchanged, the old notes were destroyed. Thus, typical survival rates don’t apply to military payment certificates like it does to other currency.  Something printed relatively recently and in high numbers could actually be very rare because most would have been destroyed on Conversion Day. The black marketers didn’t always take this lying down; it was not uncommon for the nearest U.S. base to be attacked in retaliation soon after C-Day.

Among The Most Popular Forms Of Paper Currency

MPC currency notes were first used following WWII to help local currencies. During the war, American GIs discovered that they could use U.S. dollars for less than the accepted conversion rate, a scheme that helped spawn a sprawling black market network. To combat this, the U.S. military introduced the MPC program. Unlike U.S. currency, these notes were issued by the Department of Defense NOT the Treasury Department. Today, MPC notes are among the most popular forms of paper currency desired by collectors. Many of these notes were discarded after the war, so get yours now before our limited supply runs out! It’s the perfect gift for anyone you know who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War or if you want to add an interesting piece of history to your collection.