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25 Cents Sinop Air Station
| Issuer | Black Sea NCO Open Mess, APO N.Y. 09133 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965-1975 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed in black on beige paper. The left panel bears the issuer's name and APO address in bold block lettering, with a red serial number at lower centre and a 'Void if detached' notice at lower left. The right panel, framed by a thick black border, displays the denomination '5 CENTS' in large bold type. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BLACK SEA NCO OPEN MESS APO N.Y. 09133 Void if detached 5 CENTS |
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| Comments |
Sinop Air Station was a highly classified NSA signals intelligence facility on Turkey's Black Pont peninsula — one of the most sensitive listening posts along the Soviet Black Sea coast throughout the Cold War. The NCO Open Mess scrip issued here served a practical purpose: keeping dollars off the local economy, as required by Status of Forces agreements, while accommodating a base population that was small, isolated, and operating under strict security protocols.
The APO New York address is standard for European theater military installations, masking geographic location in official mail routing. Scrip of this type was typically redeemed or destroyed at the end of each MPC conversion cycle, which is why base-specific mess scrip survives in far smaller quantities than general Military Payment Certificates.