Military Payment Certificates

Military Payment Certificates (MPC) were a form of currency issued by the United States Department of Defense for use by American military personnel stationed overseas. From 1946 to 1973, MPC circulated in place of regular US dollars at military bases and installations throughout Asia and the Pacific, including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

The primary purpose of MPC was to curb black market activity. Because US dollars were highly sought after on foreign black markets, soldiers could be exploited or coerced into exchanging their pay at unfavorable rates. By restricting personnel to a currency that had no value outside the military system, the government made it far less attractive for civilians to accumulate American currency through illicit means.

MPC was issued in fifteen distinct series, each identified by a three-digit number (Series 461, 471, 481, and so on through Series 692). Periodically, with little warning, the military would conduct a "C-Day" conversion, declaring the current series invalid and replacing it with the next. Any civilian caught holding MPC on C-Day was left with worthless paper, effectively shutting down black market stockpiles.

The notes themselves are visually distinctive. Printed in vivid colors with portrait and allegorical figures, they range from 5 cents to 20 dollars in denomination. Each series has its own design character, and variations, replacements, and error notes give collectors a rich field to explore. The standard reference work is the Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates by Fred Schwan and Joe Smulczenski, now in its fifth edition.

This site is a resource for collectors and researchers interested in MPC and military numismatics more broadly. It hosts the MPC Gram, a newsletter covering new discoveries, auction results, research notes, and community news, along with information about MPC Fest, the premier annual gathering for collectors of military currency.

Draft by Dave S. — corrections welcome.