I would like to piggy back on AC Coins blog and bring up another feature that is used as anti-counterfeiting on my MPC notes.  Angel, yesterday was showing us a note he has snagged with little animals stamped on it. I will be talking about a feature our government added to these notes on purpose.

   What I will show you all is the use of ultra violet or UV ink in the bills. This plus the use of planchettes kept most counterfeiters away. First off are the planchettes. These are small discs of colored paper imbedded and at random throughout the paper. Counterfeiters have tried to duplicate this feature by using their own colored paper to no avail. A real planchette adds thickness to the note. It is also easy to see the difference by just using a strong light against the note.

   Next up is the use of UV ink. Starting in 1946, with the release of Series 461, ink that is sensitive to ultra violet light was used for one of the background tints on the face of the certificate. The ink is not identifiable as anything out of the ordinary under sunlight, incandescent, or fluorescent light. Everything looks normal until an ultra violet light is directed onto the MPC. The note glows like a Day Glow poster from the ‘60’s. Nowadays this is a fairly common practice to curb counterfeiting ,but back then it was new and amazing.

   I hope you enjoyed this little blog and learned from it. There are plenty of notes out in the wild to feed new collectors’. I have added a few photos of MPC notes demonstrating the glowing. Some are a little better than others. Photographing the planchette is a real challenge as they add height. Also, Time does do it’s damage..  

SOURCES:

World War II Rembered- Histroy in your Hands- A Numismatic Study

   By: Fred Schwan and Joseph E. Boing

Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates

   By: Fred Schwan