Allied Military Occupation Currency

left click photos to enlarge

I just received news of a [military numismatic] Gold Strike in Australia from our fellow Gramster and Seminarian, Tony James.

This discovery is a continuation of a string of discoveries which started with the 100 Yen British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) Special voucher, and then the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Australian counterfeits. Both of these have been reported in the Gram and elsewhere.

Now, Tony was able to get a look into a safe at The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which had not previously been available due to the fact that the only employee at the RBA who had access to the safe was on extended leave for several months. The search of the material in the safe was meant to find any further info/examples of the BCOF Special Vouchers and/or the NEI counterfeits. Nothing more was found of those items.

But, much to our surprise, a whole new proposed WWII issue was found!
What the Australians had produced in 1943/44 were proofs/essays of Allied Military Occupation Currency (AMOC). There was a color "Photographic Proof of the front and back of a 10 Yen Note" and a "Sketch Design [essay] of the front of a 50 Yen Note"

In addition, there were blank card board cutouts of what appears to be the whole proposed series, showing the sizes of a 1Yen, 5 Yen, 10 Yen, and a 50 Yen. Both Tony and I were also provided with a large number of the WWII correspondence files related to most everything produced by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). This was the predecessor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). We owe our thanks to Virginia MacDonald, archivist of the RBA, for providing all of this wonderful research material.

Unusual WWI Coin Book

Left click photo to enlarge.

This is an unusual book inside a "coin". The coin is two shells which fit together much like an old-time pill box (2" x 1/4"). The book is a 30 page fan-fold book with disc shaped pages and a ribbon binding. The pictures and text of the book depict heros of the era (1914/16),and various battles and home front themes.

Obverse coin legend: LUDWIG III, KING OF BAVARIA
Reverse coin legend: IN LOYAL CELEBRATION, BAVARIAN THALER, 1914/16
The title page of the book reads: DEDICATED TO OUR COURAGEOUS BAVARIA IN LOYALTY AND GRATITUDE
The end page reads: TO THE MEMORY OF THE GREAT WAR, [with blank lines to enter names etc.]


Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria 1913–18. He abdicated upon the formation of the Republic.
I found only one thaler-sized coin (5 Mark, 1914) minted with his likeness on the obverse, (KM #521, D # 620). This coin does not resemble the Coin Book design in any way. So, either the Coin Book design came from a medal, or it is a fantasy design. The designer/engraver name appears below the bust on the obverse ( Rich. Klein). The obverse bust is clearly that of Ludwig III. The reverse coat of arms with lions and crowns is a common reverse design for earlier Bavarian thalers. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows more about this particular design.