A LOT of WWII Era Currency and Allied Occupation Currency

[GIZMO8Z]

A "medical bio-hazard" plastic bag was found in the trash at our recycling facility. Inside, there were numerous war time bills... Allied occupation lire for Italy issued 1943, Allied occupation francs for France issued 1944 (D-Day invasion money?), 1 allied occupation yen, some sort of British bill, and then actual French francs, Algerian francs, and Fascist italian lire.

Can anyone tell me anything about these?

[Alexander]

Nice bills, for sure. The square Allied occupation ones were issued for the countries liberated from the Germans / Japanese. I believe they were used until the Allied military authorities got a post war local civilian structure going again in the liberated countries. I have some German bills, the same shape and size as the Italian and french bills, also dated 1944. The French / Algerian and Italian banknotes may have been picked up by a US soldier perhaps going from North Africa into Italy via Sicily. The British Military Authority 1 shilling bill was, I think, used by British soldiers for use in their NAAFIs (our PX / BX stores). The old French and Italian bills are probably worth a few $$$ to banknote collectors.

[Battery Command Post]

Allied Military Currency was used to pay troops depending in which area they were operating. Troops were always paid in local currency, but in many cases local governments could be either hostile or very unstable. Paying men in their own currency was also a bad idea as having hard currency (such as the US Dollar or British Sterling) floating around would tend to undermine the local economy and lead to high inflation and other ill effects. Obviously, 'liberating' a country like France and then sending it's fragile war-torn economy into hyperinflation by having men spend US Dollars was not a desired aim. Therefore, currency like this was produced, declared as legal tender and issued as cash to soldiers, allowing them to spend their pay when out of the line.

Most of the Allied notes are self-explanatory, perhaps with the exception of the British Military Authority 1/- note, which was used in North Africa.

Rob

[GIZMO8Z]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the info! Were the bills for Occupied Italy and France issued before invasions? (Aka when the troops stormed the beaches of Italy and France), or were they only issued after the Allies had a stable zone of occupation?

Do you happen to know the spending power of these bills? ... aka what could an Allied 1 lire bill, or an Allied 2 Franc bill buy a soldier back then?

[Battery Command Post]

Thanks for the info! Were the bills bills for Occupied Italy and France issued before invasions? (Aka when the troops stormed the beaches of Italy and France), or were they only issued after the Allies had a stable zone of occupation?

Funny you should ask that, as I was just scanning a document to show the answer to that. This is the Canadian Soldier's Pay Book Part II, which was, in effect, a bank account ledger of a soldier's pay:




This example, showing his pay between 1st Jan - 31st Dec 1944, belonged to an artilleryman, Harry King, who was a member of 5th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (whose vehicle tactical sign - 43 on red/blue - was the same as my avatar). This 2nd Cdn Division unit landed in Normandy almost exactly one month after D-Day (6th-7th July 1944), and went straight into the fighting around Caen.

If you look at the entry for 3rd July, it says 'spec' (special), and note that unlike the cash withdrawal on 29th June (which was in British currency: £1 10 shillings) he was given 200 Francs, which would have been Allied Military Currency. So, this was paid in advance of his landing in France, when it was still a war zone.

Do you happen to know the spending power of these bills? ... aka what could an Allied 1 lire bill, or an Allied 2 Franc bill buy a soldier back then?

What were the prices at the local brothels you mean? No idea

Rob

[GIZMO8Z]

Awesome Rob, thank you so much for your time and effort!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Joe, nice find!

Some more can be seen here:

Allied Invasion money

Cheers, Ade.

[ObKrieger]

You go digging around in medical biohazard bags for your militaria? That is dedication...

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks, Ade!

[GIZMO8Z]

You go digging around in medical biohazard bags for your militaria? That is dedication...

Whatever it takes!