Byron P. writes: I was looking through some coins and paper money that was given to me by my father. included are some military payment certificates for $1 , $0.10 $0.25 and $0.10. These are from the late 60’s – early 70’s from when he was in the army. All of the payment certificates are paper. The 10 cent certificate is in perfect condition (no creases in the paper from being folded. I was wondering if they are worth anything.
Yes, there is a great deal of interest in US Military Payment Certificates. They were essentially emergency money and the life span of these notes was short. The notes were changed often and the old notes demonetized and destroyed. For soldiers in combat, they weren’t in much of a position to collect these notes as they were more interested in dodging bullets.
For example, an uncirculated 1961 10 cent note brings $50-$60 and may be worth even more in the future. Some of the higher denomination notes bring good prices as these were the hardest for people to save. A 1965 $10 MPC in uncirculated condition would bring close to $200 and the 1961 $10 would bring close to $2,000.
MPCs are very exciting and have lots of stories and history behind them. You can collect WWII and post WWII era notes as well as those from the Vietnam Conflict.