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MPC GRAM

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Series 8, no 1555 Friday, June 22, 2007

A Yen for Knowledge

by Fred Schwan

MPCGram championship Question 201. (Difficulty 1)

was: When the trial MPC was printed, where was the intended place of issue?

Bill Myers correctly answered that A yen was intended to be used in Korea and I pronounced the answer correct.

Joe Boling wrote a very interesting comment on the

matter--

I do not think we know that. Stecher-Traung printed two groups of Series 100 supplemental yen, but nothing available to me says that there were specific uses (and specific geography) in mind at the time the notes were printed. In fact, I would expect that the A series would have been the group most likely to be used first (which turned out to be on Okinawa, and then extending to the homeland); how the B yen came to be issued on Okinawa, leaving the A yen for some other function, is not known to me.

I like the comment very much. Joe is correct with respect to much of his comments. As far as I know, we do not have any documentary evidence as to the intentions of A and B yen. Bill Myers correctly answered the question that I intended to ask, but the question is a bit suspect.

I thought about Joe's comments and thought that we might be able to infer the intended places of circulation based upon other than documentaqry evidence.

First, I believe that the notes speak for themselves in being intended for use in two different countries or at least areas. First, that would be consistent with the other series of AMC that had been created and issued by the time that AMC yen was printed. We might think that B yen was intended as a possible replacement (or even supplement to the supplemental

yen) However, I am confident that they would not have had the same series designation (eg 100) if that had been the case.

Next I thought that the printing quantities would show conclusively that A yen was intended for Japan and B yen for Korea.

It seems to me that the only two places (countries) where supplemental yen would be used were Japan and Korea. Possibly Joe will have some thoughts on that one.

Next, I would expect that the issue intended for use in Japan would have been printed in greater quanties.

I was excited to look up the quantities which I have done now upon arrival in Colorado Springs for the Summer Seminar.

Of course, for this purpose we should consider only the initial printings. Later printings by the US BEP and Japanese Finance Ministry would not be applicable to this analysis.

Well, I think that the data support my theory, but there are some surprises.

For the low values, the A yen had higher quantities (here and throughout A then B yen quantities.

A yen with higher printing quantities

10 sen 93,456,000 51,856,000

50 sen 76,668,000 43,344,000

1 yen 66,176,000 53,984,000

5 yen 29,840,000 27,000,000

B yen with higher printing quantities

10 yen 51,880,000 60,740,000

20 yen 4,506,000 35,408,000

100 yen 9,140,000 39,042,000

I admit that I do not fully understand the high quantities of A yen for the low values but the relatively huge printings for the 20 and 100 yen denominations lead me to conclude that B yen was intended for use in Japan.

Therefore, I stand by the question and the answer, but of course most importantly the question should be revised for the annual contest. I very much look forward to any comments on the theory that I have presented.

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Championship Question Corner

Question 203. Difficulty 1. What contractor printed supplemental A yen?

Prevous Question: Question 202. Difficulty 1. What are the highest awards for valor in the US and UK?

Answers and comments: Bill Myers answered Congresssional Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross.

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Editorial

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I can almost hear the screaming from a select few Gramsters regarding the answer to Question 202. The highst award for valor in the United States is the Medal of Honor. The screamers would say that it is this AND NOT Congressional Medal of Honor.

I have read a bit about this over the years. I do not know THE answer, but I have some thoughts and a recent observation.

At the Hill Air Force Base Aviation Museum (not the correct title of the museum since we are talking about precision of language) I saw two citations for awarding this medal.

The two citations used the two forms of the name:

Medal of Honor and Congressional Medal of Honor. I took photos of the two citations, but they are not suitable for publication. First the pieces on display were copies. Secondly, the lighting was poor and the reflections from the cases was high. Nonetheless, the two names were used on the top lines of the citations.

Unfortunately, the accompanying certificates for the two awards were not on display. Neither were the medals.

The crux of the matter is that the Medal of Honor (on a separate issue, I am not certain that this is a proper noun requiring capitalization) is awarded by Congress. Therefore it seems to be correct to me to say that Sergeant York was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor with Congressional being a proper adjective. In other sentence constructions Congressioinal may or may not fit.

That is my take on it.

Here is how the every popular source Wikipedia reported it. I like what it says.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. It is often colloquially referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because the President presents the award "in the name of the Congress." It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself "…conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States…"

Members of all branches of the U.S. military are eligible to receive the medal, and each service has a unique design with the exception of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, which both use the Navy's medal. The Medal of Honor is often presented personally to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to survivors, by the President of the United States. Due to its high status, the medal has special protection under U.S. law.

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Mail Call (send mail to MPCGram@yahoo.com) ===========================================

The following letter was sent and recived in March, but somehow got lost in my inbox (gasp). I apologize for the delay in publishing this letter.

Editor

Dear Festers,

The more I think of it, I don't think that I really showed how much I appreciated the award that was given me in honor of Leo at the FEST. To begin with, so much was done in his honor at the '06 FEST, that it didn't occur to me when Larry began to talk, that he was speaking about Leo until he mentioned the "little white pickup truck".

When I went up front and Larry presented the gold coin to me that had his name inscribed on one side and FEST 8 on the other, I really wasn't able to say anything except "Thank you." However, I'd like to say now to all of you that the outpouring of true love, friendship and admiration for Lee that I have seen and heard from you all has been wonderful! I know that he so looked forward to the FEST each year, and always came home saying what a great time he had had!

I know that the years from the time he began to learn the paper money business from the BEST, were some of his happiest. He valued and enjoyed the close friends he made and the interesting people he met, and I'm sure that he was watching what was going on and being said with tears in his eyes!

So thank you all again! I have enjoyed the FESTS that I have attended and feel that through your all's love for him, you all are kind of an extended family to me. I hope to see you all next yesr!

Love, Val

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Calendar

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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:

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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.

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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.