1 Dollar Military Payment Certificate - Series 481 - MPC Currency

1 Dollar Military Payment Certificate, Series 481. Unlike US currency, which is issued by the Department of the Treasury, these MPC were issued under the authority of the Department of War (later Department of Defense). Consequently, they do not bear the US Treasury seal found on virtually every example of US civilian currency. MPCs were fully convertible to U.S. dollars when servicemen left a designated MPC zone, and convertible to local currencies when servicemen went on leave (but not vice versa). In order to eliminate U.S. dollars from local economies, it was illegal for unauthorized personnel to possess MPC.

Although US greenbacks were not circulating, many local merchants accepted MPC on par with US dollars, since they could use them on the black market. This was especially evident in the late twentieth century during the Vietnam War, when the MPC program was at its zenith. To prevent MPC from being used as a primary currency in the host country and destroying the local currency value and economy, the US frequently changed MPC banknote styles to deter black marketers and reduce hoarding. A "conversion day" or "C-day" was the soldiers' only chance to trade in their old MPC for the new issue, after which the old MPC became worthless. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_payment_certificate