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Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 11:57:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: MPCgram <mpcgram@yahoo.com>
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==============================================
                    MPC Gram
============================================== 
Covering the Entire World of Military Numismatics
-----------------------------------------------
Series 002-Number 357                D-Day 2001

        The big AMC breakthrough of 1968 

By Neil Shafer, NLG 

This story with minor revisions is reprinted with
permission from the May 2001 Bank Note Reporter.
  It was mid-1968. I had been at Western Publishing
Company (Whitman) in Racine since late 1962. Ken
Bressett and I were deep “in the trenches” trying to
figure out all the background data for the various
Allied Military Currency (AMC) issues. By then I had
already developed a keen interest in all kinds of
world notes, and it was a source of real pleasure to
me that Ken was also interested enough in the subject
to want to pursue it as diligently and thoroughly as
he did. And it was he who found the small marks on the
notes that began to unravel the whole mystery- but
we’ll cover all that a bit later. 
  The subject of AMC was already one that had received
much attention since by then there had been several
specialized catalogs written on the subject, the first
being published in 1961 by Alfred J. Swails. That same
year Dr. Walter M. Loeb of Mercer Island, Wash.
produced a book entitled Catalog of Paper Money around
the World. His goal was to list every note that was
worth $1.00 or less from everyplace. In his catalog
for the German AMC issues, he used the original system
of classifying them by zone just as Swails had done.
Thus, he included only a 0ne-mark issue from the U.S.,
1/2 to 20 mark from the British, 1/2 and 5 mark from
the French, and 1/2 to 10 mark from the Russian Zones
of occupation. (For anyone who does not know what that
original system claimed, it was this: you could tell
which of the four occupation zones any German AMC note
came from just by examining its serial number. If it
began with a double 0, it was from the French Zone; a
single zero in front came from the British Zone; a
numeral one starting the number indicated its origin
as the American Zone, and a dash line to start the
number was from the Russian Zone.) 
  This discussion will center mostly on these German
listings, as they were the most inexplicable and
baffling. I think the origin of the “four-zone” theory
must have come from some German collectors who thought
they had figured out the system at the time of issue.
Trouble is, this so-called system was never questioned
by anyone, just accepted as the way things were. It
became something of a sacred cow. You grew up knowing
that the four-zone system was accepted and used by
everyone. Logic played no part in anyone’s thinking.
For example, no one thought about why the listings for
the American Zone of occupation were incomplete, or
why they all seemed so difficult to locate. They just
were, and that was that. 
  Raymond S. Toy published his first World War II
Military Currency catalog in 1964. It was an expanded
version of what Swails had covered several years
earlier, also with additional information widening the
scope of the subject. Of the German AMC, after the
usual four-zone explanation, he says the following:
“The Russians printed their own money from borrowed
United States plates; which happened to be the same
plates that were used for the replacement notes; so it
is difficult to tell a German replacement note from
the regular Russian issue notes. 
  “All of these notes were printed in 1944 and
official records show a total of 532,000,000 pieces of
Allied Military mark were delivered by the Bureau of
Engraving.” Toy’s listings included U.S. Zone issues
from one to 100 mark but omitting the 10, for the
British Zone a full 7-note range from 1/2 to 100 mark,
for the French Zone a full run including the 1000 mark
but omitting the 20, and for the Russian Zone all
eight values. 
  Toy’s 1965 catalog, another greatly expanded version
of the previous edition, also contained the same basic
information and incomplete listings. He did change the
text about the German issues somewhat; after the usual
lines he says, “The Russians printed their own money
from glass positives and a like number of glass
negatives for making plates to print the mark notes,
together with samples of inks and paper, also
drawings, specifications and other related materials
supplied by the United States Government.” 
  James Rutlader was the next author to come out with
a catalog on the subject. His was called Allied
Military Currency, and it was published in 1968. His
treatment of the German issues was the same as Toy’s,
but after providing the information exactly as above,
he includes the following: “Amounts printed for use by
all three sectors, U.S. British and French- 1/2 mark
75,448,000. 1 mark 114,296,000. 5 mark 75,896,000. 10
mark 77,800,000. 20 mark 75,544,000. 100 mark
48,084,000. 1000 mark 4,532,000. 
  “The amounts issued in the Russian sector have never
been available.” 
  As it turned out, 1968 was the watershed year for
the final development of the data that evolved into
what Ken and I were able to put together for the
November Whitman Numismatic Journal. But it was not
easy in coming. In the August, 1967 issue of this
magazine, in my Interest Bearing Notes column I had
written about military replacement notes, stating
categorically that “For Allied Military Currency
issued in Germany, replacement notes in the U.S. zone
were indicated by a dash in front of the serial
number. As all the Russian zone issues carry a similar
dash, it is impossible to distinguish which is which.
Perhaps some highly technical ways exist for the
testing of papers, inks, and the like, but it is
generally conceded that no practical way has been
found to arrive at a positive identification. Most
likely any note encountered with the dash would be of
Russian origin, since many millions were printed by
that government.” 
  My next reference to German AMC replacements came in
the January 1968 Journal. My column consisted of a
recap of various subjects I had covered in 1967. Under
military replacement notes, I said, “Albert Pick from
Germany wrote in that he has a small packet of 1 mark
Allied Military Notes with the original band. On this
band is the following text: ‘If the numbers on the
notes in this package do not run in sequence the
substituted notes are preceded by a (dash)-.’ This is
about the only way to guarantee that you actually have
Allied German replacement notes – by getting them
right out of the original bundles!” 
  Looking back on it, I am surprised at what I wrote
in my column as late as August of 1968 in the Journal
for that month. In a paragraph titled “The U.S. Zone
10 mark AMC for Germany,” I stated, “Allied Military
Currency as a series is one of the most sought after
and eagerly collected of the entire paper money
series. It thus gives me great pleasure in publishing
for the first time a 10 mark note made for the U.S.
Zone of Germany. The telltale indicator is of course
the serial number which begins with ‘1’ as do all U.S.
Zone notes. As is so often the case, this specimen was
found with a miscellaneous lot of notes all of which
were nominally priced. It was discovered late last
year. 

“One cataloguer has indicated that such an issue might
exist, but it has never been confirmed until now. It
will be noticed that the first three numerals in the
serial number are slightly higher and separated from
the rest. This is normal for most U.S. Zone notes. 
  “Since the discovery of this note, well known World
War II author Ray Toy has reported another similar
specimen; its serial number is 110 070915.” 
  This totally erroneous tripe was published at the
exact time Ken and I were hard at work refuting the
whole thing! We were pretty far along by then, and
starting to close in- but it was not tight enough just
yet and I did not wait for more clarification. Of
course I should have, but hindsight is always 20-20. 
  Finally, after months of going through official
papers, correspondence and all the rest, we were ready
to print our findings. Practically the entire November
1968 Journal was devoted to our article, as it covered
all the other AMC issues (except Denmark) and there
was data for each area. One paragraph of our
introduction said the following: “A couple of years
ago Ken Bressett discovered that some notes had
strange little marks on them. It was the eventual
confirmation by official sources that these were
actually “mint marks” which ultimately paved the way
for the accomplishment of meaningful research. The
result has led to a complete reappraisal of all series
of Allied Military Currency.” 
  We then listed four basic areas of reappraisal; they
included 1) The identification of “mint marks” to
serve as a basis for collecting AMC by place of
origin. 2) Watermark paper used for notes made in the
U.S. 3) Quantities delivered of the carious series,
helping to determine relative scarcity and show
probable existence of previously uncataloged issues.
4) Reattribution of German AMC used in the various
zones. 
  Each series was then discussed at length and with
many new facts to bolster our arguments. We pointed
out the “F” mint mark and its ramifications first on
the Italian notes, then the French, and finally, the
German series. With respect to the Russian request for
plates with which to print AMC, the Bureau of
Engraving posted a strenuous objection to this action.
But after a conference with the combined Chiefs of
Staff, the State Department and the Treasury, the BEP
was instructed to make available to the Russians
negatives and positives of all plates used for the
printing of the mark currency, also to furnish the
required inks. On April 21, 1944, this order was
fulfilled, along with samples of paper, drawings,
specifications, etc. 
  We then postulated that everything with respect to
the generally accepted system of identifying mark
currency by zone from serial numbers needed to be
discarded, except for the fact that some of the notes
made by the Russians did indeed start with a dash
line. Our ideas were presented as a series of logical
steps, as follows: 
“1. According to Bureau specifications, all military
marks produced in this country were made by the Forbes
Company. This suggests that they should bear the
distinctive F mint mark.
“2. Notes previously attributed to the French and
British Zones, i.e. all with numbers under 100000000,
do actually bear the F.
“3. Notes numbered 100000000 and higher, supposedly
for the U.S. Zone, occur with or without the F, as do
the notes beginning with a hyphen.
“4. U.S. troops were paid only in military marks,
while occupying troops in the other three zones were
paid partially in German Reichsmarks. It would
therefore be illogical to assume that the ‘U.S. Zone’
notes were issued in small quantities as the scarcity
of most ‘numeral 1’ bills indicates.
“5. Totals printed by Forbes, as shown in the chart,
in no case save one (the 1 mark) go above the 100
million figure. Inasmuch as serial numbers began with
000000001 and continued to the highest number without
being reset (from Bureau specifications), the old
theory would require that the only ‘U.S. Zone’ notes
in the entire German series printed by Forbes were
14,296,000 of the 1 mark! Carrying this further, the
numbering system would automatically limit all ‘French
Zone’ notes to totals under ten million for each
denomination! These deductions are certainly unlikely.
“6. The French Zone was the poorest and least
populated of the four. Why would the French have
needed or even placed an order for 1000 mark notes?
“7. The French Zone was not even established until the
Yalta Conference of February 1945. As mentioned
previously, the last shipment of military mark
currency took place October 13, 1944. Were all the
‘00’ notes segregated, awaiting a possible decision to
create a French Zone the following year? Hardly
likely. 
  “Conclusion: It is obvious that notes with serial
numbers beginning with double or single zero are
simply part of the normal numbering progression. U.S.
printed notes can have no correlation with any
specific zones.
  At this point we discussed notes with numbers higher
than 099999999, formerly attributed to the U.S. Zone,
also those beginning with a hyphen. We made the
following points. 
“8. Specimen sheets of each denomination of mark
currency held by the Bureau consist of replacement
notes with a hyphen at the beginning of the serial
number and with the F mint mark. Evidence indicates
that the Russians received such Specimen notes (rather
than notes with normal numbering) as examples from the
Bureau, and that they numbered their own notes
beginning with a hyphen in the belief that it was a
necessary part of the number.
“9. The Bureau states that all plates were made
without identifying marks and that the Forbes company,
not the Bureau, added the F. Therefore the glass
positives supplied to the Russians did not have the F
symbol. 

“Conclusion: Notes without F which have serial numbers
beginning with a hyphen are Russian printings; those
with both hyphen and F are the U.S.-printed
replacement notes. 

“10. In the higher serial numbers of the Russian
printed notes (starting around number –50000000) the
hyphen and the first two numerals begin to separate
from the rest of the serial number.
“11. This same separation characteristic of the first
three units is true for all notes beginning with
numeral 1 but without the F – notes previously
attributed to the U.S. Zone.
“12. Serial numbers in the 100 million range on the
Forbes-printed and non-Forbes printed 1 mark notes
overlap. Examples of this are numerous. The highest
non-Forbes 1 mark serial number so far reported is 115
892681. Forbes-printed 1 mark notes in the 100 million
range show no separation of the first three units,
have the F mint mark, and can only go as high as
114296000, according to the exact Bureau total. 

“Conclusion: The only logical explanation for the
non-Forbes printed notes with serial numbers over 100
million us that they are in fact high serial numbers
of Russian printed notes. 

Well, there you have the heart of the matter. We had a
lot of illustrations in the article showing the F mark
and its position on the various notes. Several other
aspects of the German mark currency were then
discussed. We also had a chart showing the lowest and
highest serial numbers observed of the Russian
printings. I have one figure that updates the
currently published numbers of the highest observed
notes. It is for the very scarce 1/2 mark, and that
number is –54,666,212. The Schwan-Boling book World
War II Remembered covers the rest. It is also of more
than passing interest to me personally that the
highest observed Russian-printed 1 mark is still the
same piece we illustrated in the Journal- and which I
found in a miscellaneous box for a dime during the
exact time we were doing this research! It was a
wonderful stroke of luck, as it pinpointed the facts
about notes with numbers higher than Bureau totals. 
  A discussion of the AMC yen currency followed, with
some details about the S mint mark for the
Stecher-Traung printing firm in California. We also
included data about the Japanese printings of the
1000-yen note and other facts behind various issues.
The article ended with a chart of relative values and
an addendum that contained figures for the A Yen
printings, totals we indicated had not been available
earlier. 
  Reaction of prominent German numismatists to the
newly revised treatment of the German mark series was
immediate- and as would be expected, mostly negative.
At that time Western Publishing Company was in the
middle of negotiations with Dr. Arnold Keller to
purchase and work up his manuscript covering world
paper money. He decried our work and said it had to be
wrong- except that he could never refute a single
piece of evidence we had provided. Also protesting,
but more mildly and with a more open mind, was Albert
Pick. Apparently he soon saw the correctness of what
we had done, as he did not press his point much
farther than to voice objection only one time.
Everyone else seemed to believe what we wrote with no
problem; all subsequent catalogs covering military
currency changed their listings in conformity with
what we had discovered. 
  Doing this work, especially with a knowledgeable and
trusted co-worker, and having it all come out as
successfully as it apparently did, was an experience I
shall never forget. 


Do You Know This Source?

By Howard A. Daniel III

Another source from the Australian friend is the
Australians At War museum at
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/index.htm. There is an
interesting area at the last section about Japan and
it describes documents about occupations forces in
Japan. But there might be other parts of this site of
interest to you too. Good hunting and please tell us
if you found anything. 
===============================================
                        Editorial
----------------------------------------------------
American, British, Canadian (alphabetical order)
forces in huge quantities attacked from the air and
see then poured ashore in France across the English
Channel fifty seven years ago today. These major
contributions were supplemented by French, Dutch and
others in smaller numbers.
  Likely the only “equipment” that was carried by
every person on Operation Overlord was the tiny pieces
of paper printed in the United States by Forbes
Lithographic Manufacturing Company as part of
Operation Tomcat. We now call Allied military currency
or most often AMC. At the time the notes were called
Supplemental Francs or AM francs.
  It is a personal theory that the 2 franc AM note is
the most collected note in the world. By that I mean
that it appears in more collections than any other
note. The reason for that is that it means something
to many and divergent people.
  Obviously collectors of general world notes and
French notes include it in their collections.
Collectors of military notes of the world also
obviously include it. Then there are collectors of
historic and military documents who include the notes
almost without thinking. Finally, there are the untold
numbers (possibly millions) around the world who have
this little note in their possession because D-Day and
the subsequent battle against the Nazi forces as an
emotional event, an important thing in their lives.
  That little 2 franc note was the favorite souvenir
to send home of soldiers, sailors, airmen and everyone
else who was there. Obviously, it was small, easy to
send, and inexpensive. However, even more importantly
it virtually shouted the message “I was there.” That
message still rings today.
===========================================
                       Mail Call
----------------------------------------------------
Dear Gram,
  When will you start posting illustrations with the
gram? 

CRB II

Dear Gram,
  I don't know about the dupont thing, but i do know
that several other companies manufacture mylar,,, they
just cannot use the 'mylar' brand name, since that is
copy-righted. the name you need to look for is
'polyethylene terephthalate'. as to the acid-free
black pages, you should be able to find that at any
good art supply or photographic store. just make sure
it says 'acid-free' or 'ph-neutral' on the label.

marianne ades

Dear Gram
 I have recently rejoined the Albuquerque Coin Club,
after a 20 year hiatus. We have a "show and tell" at
the meetings. I am planning a short presentation on
MPC for the next meeting that I hope will stimulate
more interest and get a dialog started. 
  I am planning to use your "Comprehensive Catalog of
MPCs" and "World War II Remembered" as my sources. 
  It occurs to me that I am not the first one to take
on an assignment like this. Do you, or know of anyone,
who may have already prepared something that I might
use for guidance? I feel my primary challenge it to
take the wealth of information available and filter it
down to a few minutes that will be entertaining, as
well as informative. 

Thanks, 

Warner

================================================
                      Departments
---------------------------------------------------
WWII numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar 2001
---------------------------------------------------
  Not only does the scholarship fund have an official
identity but also has a bank account! Any further
donations should be paid to the order of "Military
Numismatists Scholarship" and sent to:

Military Numismatists
c/o Marcus Turner
8103 East US Highway 36
Suite 163
Avon, IN 46123

 THE UPDATED LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP BENEFACTORS 3/22/01.

These folks have generously provided money or material
to finance scholarships to the ANA WWII Numismatics
seminar. Your contributions will help promote
collecting WWII material and be greatly appreciated.
Many donations were received at CPMX and MPCFest. 

David Amey, Mr. Anonymous Donor, Mike Cummings, Sue
and Keith Bauman, Ed B., Doug Bell, Tom Denly,
Continental Coin Invensor, Inc., Denly's, R. A.
Medina, Harold “MPCKid” Kroll, Leo "Paymaster" May,
Mrs. R.C. Matherne, Bill McNease, Marv Mericle, Mel
and Jeremy Steinberg, Marcus Turner, Larry Ski, Guido,
Fred, PK6, Joel Shafer, World Wide Ventures, Pam West,
John and Nancy Wilson, Neil Shafer, W. E. Yanchick,
Mark Watson, Al Glaser, Phil Goldstein, Rod Hardy,
Wesley Hardy, Gary Hicks, Jack Lippincott, Ian
Marshall, Kevin Maloy, David Seelye, Nick Schrier,
Elmer Smith, Dan Swartz, Tom Warburton, Dick Freyser,
Tim Kyzivat
====================================================
Post/Base Exchange 
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everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced
collector. The point is to make the gram more
interesting. Send in a list of items for sale and we
will list them here in the gram. In all cases confirm
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FOR SALE

Your items for sale will be listed in the Gram for
FREE. Send your listings now. You items for sale
support the gram by making it more interesting for
everyone!


WANTED
Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their
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who have these items are then encouraged to list them
or sale in the above section. This is a trial, if you
like it, send your list.
===================================================
Staff: publisher and editor:
Fred Schwan - fred@papermoneyworld.com;
assistant editor - Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com
Tuesday columnist Joe Boling – JoeBoling@aol.com
Thurski columnist Larry “Ski” Smulczenski –
ski@papermoneyworld.com
critic: Harold Kroll - MPCKid@papermoneyworld.com;
index manager: Ed Beaman
webmaster & technical advisor:
Doug Bell - (Wiz): doug@papermoneyworld.com; 
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.

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