Jerry writes: Was there “Emergency” currency printed in World War 2? I have seen photos of a $10,000 Silver certificate. At first glance it looks phony, in fact it looks like a one dollar bill that has been changed to a 10,000 bill. The bills have Washington’s portrait as well as the other traits of a one dollar bill. I have been told that these were printed to shore up Chang Ki Shek’s efforts against the Japanese during the war. Any info would be appreciated.
Washington only appears on $1 notes. Salmon P. Chase is on the $10,000 Federal Reserve Note. Why would giving fake money to China help them defeat Japan in WW II?
There were two emergency issues of currency during WW II. One, was currency issued for use only in Hawaii. It was normal except that every note was overprinted with the words “Hawaii”. The U.S. anticipated a Japanese invasion of the Hawaiian Islands and it would be easy to demonetize the overprinted currency if it was seized by Japan. The other emergency currency was used for paying U.S. troops in North Africa during WW II. The notes were had a yellow seal so they could also be easily demonetized in case of capture by the enemy. See: World War II Emergency Money
