us-005578-irn533664-irn734764
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Allied Military currency for Germany printed on lightweight, square-shaped, cream-colored paper. The face has a rectangular, black ink border with an ornate web design, scrollwork in the corners, and German text in the top center. Within the central rectangle, there is a light blue, leafy underprint overlaid by a black latticework design with a white M in the center. The denomination, 1/2, is indicated in each upper inner corner, just above the type of currency, a mark, along the left and right side, all in green ink. In the lower, inner corners, the green 1/2 is printed at the center of a geometrically-patterned, fan-shaped background with a chain-link border. The black ink serial number is printed in the center, with several lines of green German text above and below. The back has a geometric patterned square printed with burnt orange ink. In the center, there is a circular medallion with an elaborate, central uppercase letter M surrounded by an ornate scrollwork and repeating geometric patterned border.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1944 September-1948 June
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had subject: 1078
has record set type: Item
history: The currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Erzsebet Sandor, the step-daughter of Jozsef Barsony.
identifier: irn734764
is or was included in: us-005578-irn533664
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.630 inches (6.68 cm) | Width: 3.080 inches (7.823 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Allied Military currency (AMC), valued at a 1/2 mark, printed and distributed for use in Germany by the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT), from September 1944 to June 1948. During and immediately after World War II, the Allied powers worked cooperatively to issue special currency for Allied troops in countries they had liberated or newly occupied. The goal of the joint currency issues was to protect local economies from inflation or weakening of their currency, and to present a united front to countries they were occupying and those they were still fighting. The currency was produced for Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Japan. All of the production was carried out in secret, and the printing effort for each country was given its own code name. The printing of the Allied Military (AM) mark for Germany was known as Operation Wild Dog. The United States did the majority of the printing for the notes used in each country, but the Soviet Union insisted on being allowed to print a portion of the notes for use in Germany. With the ability to print their own notes, the Soviet Union was able to ignore the wishes of the other allies, and issue large numbers of AM marks to Soviet troops. This indiscriminate printing led to inflation issues in occupied Germany. On June 20, 1948, the American, British, and French occupation zones of Germany converted to a new currency, and the Soviets followed suit a few days later.
title: Allied Military Authority currency, 50 Pfennig note for use in Germany