Allied Military Currency

Allied Military Currency (AMC) was a form of currency issued by the Allied powers during and following World War II.  It was issued to troops entering liberated or newly occupied countries as a form of currency control.  Historically, soldiers serving overseas had been paid in local currency rather than in their "home" currency.  Most cash drawn by soldiers would go directly into the local economy, and in a damaged economy the effects of a hard currency such as the dollar circulating freely alongside weaker local currencies could cause severe problems, and increase the risk of high inflation. The high purchasing power of the dollar, and its easy transference back to the United States, also posed a significant incentive to black-marketeering.  Due to these concerns, local commanders declared AMC as legal tender, and it was paid out to soldiers in occupied countries at a fixed exchange rate.

One B Type Ten Sen Military Scrip Note is owned.  The “B Yen” notes were issued in post war US-Occupied Okinawa from July 1948 to September 1958.  The B note in my collection bears serial number  A04190811A.

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