Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
25 Cents Bienhoa Special Forces
| Issuer | Bienhoa Special Forces Open Mess |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965-1973 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed voucher in black ink on plain white paper, divided into two panels by a bold black border: the left panel carries the issuer inscriptions and a red serial number in the lower centre, while the right panel displays the denomination numeral in large white type reversed out of a solid black rectangle. A cautionary note appears at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BIENHOA Special Forces OPEN MESS Void if detached 25 CENTS |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Military Payment Certificates issued by the U.S. government are well documented, but the parallel ecosystem of privately issued scrip by base clubs, messes, and PX operations in Vietnam is far murkier. The Bienhoa Special Forces Open Mess scrip circulated internally among personnel at Biên Hòa — one of the largest U.S. air bases in-country — functioning as a control mechanism to keep dollars off the local economy and reduce black market exposure.
These mess scrip issues were never officially catalogued during the war and were typically destroyed or discarded on departure. Survivors exist almost entirely because individual soldiers pocketed them as souvenirs.