Banknotes of World War 2

Anything not related to Irish paper money. Other Banknotes • Coins • Medals • General Stuff
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Mac
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Banknotes of World War 2

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Many countries produced special issues of standard designs during the war for various reasons.
This thread is for those banknotes and coins with such alterations.

One post per country.

Ireland
USA
Philippines
UK (to be added shortly)
Others?
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Ireland War code notes

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Ireland War code notes with ETO code.

In neutral Ireland the war era was termed "The Emergency". This is reflected in the A Series notes of the era which were produced with a special marking in the form of an overprint—the Emergency Tracer Overprint code—a letter in a circle on the top left and bottom right of each banknote for all denominations except the £50 and £100 notes.

The ETO codes (also called war codes) were used on Ten Shilling notes and five Pound notes dated from 1940 to 1944, and on all denominations from 1941 to 1944.

The ETO war code was an extra security feature, used to keep track of the Irish banknotes from the time of their production in England to their being delivered safely to Ireland. The usage of ETO codes on Irish notes commenced in September 1940 when the Blitz started and ceased after the D-Day landings in 1944, when German bombing of London had stopped.

These are my favorite notes. :)

There is a section on the main web site devoted entirely to Irish war code notes.

There are 26 letter combinations.
All denominations are easily available, except the £20 note which is rare.

Central Bank of Ireland War code 20 Pounds Specimen 1943
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Central Bank of Ireland War code 10 Pounds 1943
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Central Bank of Ireland 5 Pounds Specimen War code 1943
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Currency Commission Ireland One Pound War code 1941 T
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Central Bank of Ireland 10 shillings War code Specimen 1943
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US Banknotes of World War 2

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Unites States of America WW2 special issue banknotes

The US issued three modified issues on standard note designs.

1. Hawaii Overprint
In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Hawaii overprint note was ordered from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on 8 June 1942.[33] Issued in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20, only the $1 was a silver certificate, the others were Federal Reserve Notes.[36] Stamped “HAWAII” (in small solid letters on the obverse and large letters on the reverse), with the Treasury seal and serial numbers in brown instead of the usual blue, these notes could be demonetized in the event of a Japanese invasion.

2. North Africa
Additional World War II emergency currency was issued in November 1942 for circulation in Europe and Northern Africa. Printed with a bright yellow seal, these notes ($1, $5, and $10) could be demonetized should the United States lose its position in the European or North African campaigns.

3. R and S Experimental notes
During World War II, there was concern that there might be a shortage of paper to print banknotes. A test print was done using special synthetic paper, and two groups of notes were printed, one with a red R which was a control group using Regular paper, and another with a red S, which was the Special note with the experimental paper.
1,184,000 of each were printed and released into circulation to test the durability of the Special notes compared to the Regular notes. It adds a nice variation to the standard design.

1. Hawaii Overprint
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2. North Africa Silver Certificate
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3. R and S Experimental notes
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Normal notes, for comparison
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Re: Banknotes of World War 2

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Philippines WW2 special issue VICTORY Series banknotes

The notes were printed in the US by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and brought to the islands in 1944 when US forces landed to retake the islands. More details on the Victory series notes are on a website about the currency issues in the Philippines during World War 2.


Philippines 20 Peso 1944 VICTORY note.
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VICTORY was added to the prewar note design.

A 1936 20 Peso note for comparison.
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Re: Banknotes of World War 2

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Bank of England wartime issue banknotes

The UK issued two emergency issues of standard note designs.

10 Shilling note colour changed from red to purple
£1 note colour changed from green to blue
This was done as an extra security measure against forgeries. A metallic security thread was also incorporated into the design.

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