1965–1968 $1 MPC Series 641 Currency Complete Plate 1–70

Wow! Complete Set Of 70 Military Payment Certificates From The Vietnam War Era

What a tremendous find! Here’s the story. You see, when American soldiers began arriving in Vietnam in the 1960s, they needed cold hard cash to purchase things like soda, cigarettes, beer, and other essentials at the base PX. The problem was that using U.S. currency at military establishments was out of the question due to the threat of black-market trading and counterfeiting. So instead, between August 31, 1965, and October 21, 1968, U.S. troops were issued a variety of Military Payment Certificates (MPCs) from the Series 641 issue. These Certificates were created to be tightly controlled and demonetized at a moment’s notice and were issued only to soldiers serving overseas.

Stumbling Across An Unbelievable Find

At a recent coin show, we stumbled on a table with a stack of $1 MPCs from the 641 series. Upon inspection, we noticed the printing plate numbers on the front of each Certificate ran from 1 to 70—a full printing plate! In 23 years in the business, this was a first!

The front of each of these orange-and-white Certificates features a portrait of Lady Liberty and the back features an ornate design. When these Certificates were printed, there was one printing plate with 70 different positions. Each position within the 70 had a number. And this set has all 70 numbers. Yet, these Certificates all circulated in Vietnam, so how was a complete set possible? The truth is out there somewhere, perhaps AWOL in the jungles of Vietnam

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 conduct 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 they do to other currencies. 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.

Whether you remember spending them during your tour in Vietnam or just want to add a genuine piece of U.S. military history to your currency collection, don’t miss this opportunity. Don’t wait; secure your 1965–1968 $1 MPC Series 641 Currency Complete Plate 1–70 set today!