From: MPCgram [mpcgram@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 12:52 AM To: mpcgram@papermoneyworld.net Subject: MPCGram 1550 =========================================== MPC GRAM =========================================== Series 8, no 1550 Saturday, June 9, 2007 Inflation of JIM Pesoes by Sam Spiegel This is in response to Mike Payton’s request for Japanese Invasion Money. While I do not have any notes he would likely to be interested in, I have some very interesting information. I discovered this information while doing research for an article of my own I was planning to write about JIM pesos. During the course of my research, I came across an article entitled “The Philippine Supreme Court and Postwar Problems of International Law" by L. D. Lockwood, published in the Stanford Law Review, December, 1950 issue. This has much information that would be of interest to military numismatists. One thing that stood out to me was a chart it had, which showed the conversion rate of Philippine to Japanese military notes.  One Peso (P1.00) in Terms of Japanese Military Notes. [D. I. Ballantyne Conversion Table] Month 1942 1943 1944 January 1.00 1.05 4.00 February 1.00 1.10 5.00 March 1.00 1.15 6.00 April 1.00 1.30 9.00 May 1.00 1.25 12.00 June 1.00 1.30 15.00 July 1.00 1.40 20.00 August 1.00 1.50 25.00 September1.00 1.60 30.00 October 1.00 1.70 40.00 November 1.00 2.50 -- What this chart basically shows is that at the beginning of the war, the Japanese peso was just as strong as the Philippine one, but as time went on, and more and more were being printed, it became devalued. The article quotes the Japanese Commander in Chief, as issuing a proclamation on January 3, 1942 (the day after the conquest of Manila ), "[The JIM currency is] legal tender for payments of all kinds at par with the Philippine peso."  This confused me, though, because according to World War II Remembered, "JIM pesos were put into circulation after the fall of Manila. Thereafter, persons found with any other type of money were subject to severe punishment."  The article, which is mainly about court cases in the Philippines, keeps making mention of how debts and such could have been paid in either JIM pesos or Philippine pesos. One such mention is when talking about the case Haw Pia vs. The Chinese Banking Company, when one woman had borrowed money (in Philippine pesos) before the war from The Chinese Banking Company. She had repaid the loan later on in the war with JIM pesos, when the exchange rate was much in her favor, and thus the Chinese Banking Company lost much money because they were paid back in notes that were not worth what was loaned out. The Philippine Supreme Court sided in favor of Haw Pia, saying that it was legal for her to repay her debt in Japanese money.   I will not go much further into the details of the case (that I am going to save for my article), but needless to say, there seems to be some inconsistency here. After my search, and a little educated guesswork, I think I know what the case may be. Philippine pesos were still printed in 1942 by guerilla forces and local governments. These were continued until October 1943, when the Second Philippine Government, a puppet government set up by the Japanese under the leadership of Jose Laurel, declared these notes illegal. Once U.S. forces landed a year later in October, 1944, they began printing Philippine peso notes again. So I suppose what could be the case was that Philippine notes issued prior to the war were still valid because the Japanese notes were "at par with the Philippine peso."  The notes issued by guerilla forces and local governments were the only ones that were illegal.   So while I am not able to fulfill Mike’s request outright, it is still some interesting information on the notes. However, I am not positive about my theory of what legal tender in the Philippines was and what was not. Even if my guessing is completely wrong, the chart that shows hyperinflation of the JIM peso is very interesting, and one can almost chart the success of the war in the Pacific, as the Japanese began to lose the war, it is reflected by the weakness of the currency.  Preparation for Colorado Springs by Joe Boling This is my annual advisory column for persons coming to Summer Seminar - what to pack. Although the military courses are not until week two, some of you will be departing sooner (as the battalion clerk has) and attending two weeks of seminars. Thus the "early" advice. If you are staying in the dorms, you will be provided towels and slivers of soap, but NOT face cloths. If you are one who uses a face cloth to bathe, shower, or shave, bring a couple and a plastic bag to pack the wet one in on the last morning. If you want to use a hand towel for those trips to the sink between showers, bring them also. Only a very few (or no) hangers are left in the closets when the Colorado College students leave for the summer. Bring a good supply of hangers for your shirts and trousers. If you are driving, and want to work at your desk in the evenings, bring a desk lamp. The overhead lights in the dorms are not very bright. Even if you are flying to Colorado, bringing a Tensor lamp (or equivalent) might be possible. If you are planning to make the trip up Pikes Peak, bring a jacket, and maybe a hat. The weather up there is usually very different from what is down below. For the week in the Springs, casual wear. The staff members have been known to castigate folks for appearing in a tie and jacket. Bring an umbrella - it is not uncommon to have a thunderstorm every afternoon of the session. If you will be sunning yourself on the patio (or just playing poker out there in the afternoon), bring sun screen. At 6000 feet elevation, the sun burns much faster than at low elevations. If you have some numismatic white elephants, consider donating them to the YN auctions. The YN contingent will be soliciting donations of material to be sold (there is a YN auction in each session). Bring your check book also, so that you can buy items from the auction. $50 bottles of water have been known to find new homes during those events. If you are already a fester, bring that pay book. The penalties for appearing for pay without a pay book can be severe. Don't forget your challenge coin, also, and keep it close by. Bring both World War II Remembered and the 4th edition MPC book, if you own them. If you do not own them, they will be provided, but you will be assessed for them in the pay line, thereby reducing the available fest certificates that you have to use for other purposes. If you have any military currencies (particularly of the years covered by the seminar class, 1930-date) that are mysteries, bring them. If we can't unravel the mysteries, we will at least get to see your treasures and record them for the next edition of SB. You are welcome to bring as much else of your collection as you desire to share, but there is limited security capability (space in the ANA museum, subject to restricted hours of access). I've not heard of anyone losing material from the rooms, but there is only minimal security there. If you collect fest certificates, consider bringing that collection so that researchers can record serial numbers and you have your material close at hand for trading. If you own a UV lamp and a good loupe or hand-held microscope, bring them (and mark them with your name/phone number). Bring a millimeter scale. Bring your digital camera for recording images of notes and ancillary material. You can see from this list that the seminars tend to the very practical side, dealing with the actual materials as much as possible, rather than catalog listings of them. And if this brief message makes you wish that you were coming, start planning for 2008. ***************************************************** Championship Question Corner Question 198. Difficulty 1. How many notes in a unit of fractional MPC? Prevous Question: Question 197. Difficulty 1. How many sheets in a unit of MPC? Answers and comments: Bill Myers wrote that there are 8000 sheets in a unit of MPC. ========================================== Editorial ========================================== Did I ever tell you about the flood and evacuation of the black hole? It has been quite a while now. I am not sure when it was. One morning my feet got wet going into the BH. At first I was bewildered. The hot water heater is in a closet between the BH and the garage. It can be accessed only from the garage. It had lost its bottom. You can imagine Judy’s reaction. No, I doubt if you can imagine it. I was not very happy either, but Judy…. I emptied everything out of the BH. Yes, everything. It was quite a task. Ultimately, the wooden floor was dried and the carpet replaced. I painted the walls as long as the place was empty. The point of the story is that in putting everything back in the BH, I could not find my master copies of Remembered, Remembered 2 draft 1, and MPC4. It has been quite frustrating for me not to have these master copies. I have tried very hard to only make annotations in one copy of a book so that revisions will be much easier when a new edition comes around. Well, last week I found all three of the maser copies! They were not in the BH or the garage. They were in the basement. The basement of the camper that is. The compartments below the coach are called the basement. I had not unloaded the books since the last time that the camper was out of the driveway in 2006! I am quite happy to have them now and am using them daily. ========================================= Mail Call (send mail to MPCGram@yahoo.com) =========================================== Dear Gram, Saw the article about the Victory packages, and I do have one of the cigarette packs (I think 2 cigarettes) with MacArthur signature and "I Shall Return" phrase. I would not think the other items in those packages could be as easily identified. Neil S. =========================================== Calendar =========================================== 2007 ANA Summer semnar Session I: June 24-29, 2007* Session II: June 30-July 6, 2007 Donations for 2008 scholarship fund are being accepted. Contact Dan Freeland at ksfdaf@sbcglobal.net or call him at 989-843-5247. Memphis 6-8 July ANA Convention, Milwaukee. 2008 MPC Fest IX, Feb 29-Mar 2. Holiday Inn Express, Port Clinton, Ohio 43452 ========================================== for dealer Hot Contact list, ANA MPC museum holdings and other static information please click this link: http://www.papermoneyworld.net/Gramattichments.htm ========================================= POST / BASE EXCHANGE(PX/BX/NEX) Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale, purchase or trade will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. In all cases confirm your order via email first. WANTED SECTION: Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here. WANTED - JAPANESE INVASION MONEY (JIM). Collector/researcher of these notes by zone, type, and block letter, or number will buy or trade.  Checklist available, Anythinfg unusual is of particular interest. Mike Payton, 6609 Craig, Merriam, KS. USA 66202, papermoneymike@yahoo.com Dealers and collectors who have these items, are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section as a reply. Wanted listings will run for a period of 1 month. Germany Buchenwald nd 50 Pfennig C.3951b, F&F GE-140b UNC 200.00 nd 2 Marks C.3953a, F&F GE-142a UNC 250.00 nd 2 Marks C.3953b, F&F GE-142b UNC 250.00 nd 3 Marks C.3954a, F&F GE-143a UNC 300.00 nd 3 Marks C.3954b, F&F GE-143b UNC 300.00 Insured Postpaid David E. Seelye, P.O. Box 356; North Chili, NY 14514 Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of WWII by Ray and Steve Feller. 166 pages, large format, soft cover in FULL COLOR only $35 (plus $4 per ORDER) shipping. Send you order to the Gram and we will send your book with an invoice or send your order via snail mail to BNR Press, 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, OH 43452. Fest quarters (also known as Fest casino tokens, Fest quarters, and harolds are available to Gramsters. These quarters are ideal give aways to promote the hobby. Additionally, they will be valid for spending at all Fests. 2007 harolds can be purchsed in rolls at $6.25 per roll (face value (we knew that you would love this roll value!). Rolls are original, unsorted or searched just the way that they came from the Great Lakes Mint. As a courtesy we will also send four harolds for a dollar bill and a self addressed stamped envelope. Send your orders to MPCFest Headquarters, 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, Ohio 43452. ======================================= MPCGram Staff: Publisher, editor: Fred Schwan fred@papermoneyworld.net; Subscription Manager:Doug Bell- doug@papermoneyworld.net Tuesday Columnist : JoeBoling- JoeBoling@aol.com Friday Columnist: Warner Talso: wtalso@aol.com Fest Auctioneer: Larry Columnist at large: Jim Downey Fest auctioneer "Ski"Smulczenski - skitex@cox.net Critic:Harold Kroll - HARBONS@aol.com Scholarship Coordinator: Dan and Kathy Freeland ksfdaf@sbcglobal.net Webmaster and Technical Advisors:Doug Bell "Wiz" - doug@papermoneyworld.net Fact Checker: Warner Talso -Calendar Coordinator: John and Nancy Wilson -The Boss: Judy Schwan MPC Gram is published by BNR Press and papermoneyworld.com as a free service to the community of military money collectors. Your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, editorial contributions, letters, and even praise are very welcome. The entire contents including linked illustrations are copyright protected by the publishers. In the case of contributors, the copyright is protected on behalf of the creators. Please send all correspondence regarding the gram to MPCgram@yahoo.com. Thank you very much for your participation. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.11/838 - Release Date: 6/7/2007 2:21 PM