From: "MPCgram" To: Subject: MPCGram 861 Date: Sunday, March 02, 2003 9:41 PM =========================================== MPC GRAM =========================================== Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics Series 004 - Number 861 Sunday March 2, 2003 Marcus Turner Wins The first tournament to determine the national champion of military money collectors was held on Friday and Saturday at MPC Fest IV. Marcus Turner as the eventual winner of the event. The contest had a little bit of everything?entertainment, education, some upsets and, yes, even some excitement. Oh yes, and plenty of comedy. Thirty eight contestants battled for the championship in a jeopardy style contest that combined knowledge of military money collecting and gamesmanship. Wendell Wolka was the master of ceremonies, Larry Ski Smulczenski asked the questions and Fred Schwan was officially the judge, but Schwan could not keep his hands out of the mix and added questions of his own. Harold Kroll and Turner made it to the finals where Turner prevailed. The national champion was awarded a unique silver medal by American Numismatic Association president John Wilson. 022 Out?031 In Military Fest Certificate Series 022 was invalidated on March first at MPC Fest. Series 031 was introduced at the same time. The new series features portraits of generals of the United States from the Revolutionary War through Desert Storm. More details will be provided as they become available. An Airport Economist in the Ryukyus (November 1949) by Martin Bronfenbrenner (submitted by Jim Downey) The Ryukuanist (Newsletter of the International Society for Ryukyuan Studies), No. 9 (Summer 1990), pp. 4-5* I was a member of a small team or mission detached from SCAP's Economic and Scientific Section (E.S.S.) for temporary duty on Okinawa in November 1949. Most of us were economists of some sort; we came and went by plane; few if any of us had ever been to the Ryukyus before; call us "airport economists" in the best tradition of development economists 20 years later. Our functions were not quite clear. Our mission chief, a Wisconsin trained Ph.D. was to report to SCAP on why the recovery of the Ryukyus was lagging behind that of the Japanese mainland, and also on the extent to which the disinflationary perestroika of the "Dodge line" might be applied there. My official title was that of Tax Economist in the Public Finance Division of E.S.S., and I was making my first visit to the Ryukyus. (During the war I had been a Navy language officer, but played no part in the Okinawan invasion.) We were supposed to evaluate the way prices, wages, relief, taxes, public spending, money, banking, and international economics were being conducted in the Ryukyus, and interpose suggestions of our own in consonance with the Dodge reforms. Okinawa was more like the immediate-postwar Japan that I remembered (from service in Kyushu in late 1945) than like the half-recovered Japan to which I was returning four years later. The capital of Naha, for example, was one big black market like the Shimbashi, Ueno, or Asakusa districts of Tokyo. The Okinawans were still wearing mainly cast-off G.I. Clothing. In the countryside, many Okinawans were living in temporary shacks of the kind Americans had called "Hoovervilles" in the Great Depression and which Japanese had by now replaced after the bombings with something considerably better. The Americans were largely responsible, I heard, for the miserable housing, because military facilities were also largely impermanent, and often shifted from place to place. (Wherever a military billet was set up, Ryukyuan homes within a mile radius were torn down. Their plumbing facilities were largely nonexistent, and their stench was offensive.) Another difference between Okinawa and Japan was the state of the roads. Japanese roads were gradually becommg passable, but we could not explore the scenic North of Okinawa, where four-lane superhighways now run, without risking tires and axles on dirt paths rutted by military traffic. I'm neither an anthropologist nor a sociologist, but Ryukyuan and Japanese cultures appeared to differ much more in 1949 than they do 40 years later. A larger proportion of people's conversation was at that time carried on in the Ryukyuan language; there were more family "keyhole" tombs on the hillsides; more Ryukyuans carried loads on their heads, whereas the Japanese did not; many Ryukyuans with nothing better to do would form impromptu groups and pass the time by singing long, repetitive Ryukyuan songs to the accompaniment of harmonicas. Nearly everyone owned harmonicas; now their role is played by the "SONY walkman." Communicating with Okinawans in Japanese, I picked up an ethnocentric history of the Second World War. It was about Okinawa. The Americans wanted to conquer it, and Japan helped the Okinawans to defend it. Eventually the Americans conquered Okinawa, whereupon the war ended. And now(1949), the Americans were naturally prosperous because of their control of Okinawa and the other Ryukyus, while the Japanese and Ryukyuans are miserable because of their loss of these territories. The novel The Teahouse of the August Moon , laid in the Ryukyus, appeared two years later(1951) in the middle of the Korean War. Its picture of Ryukyuan culture is wrong, and its attitude toward Ryukuans condescending. This much was obvious even from my short stay in Okinawa. On the professional front, I was sidetracked from taxation and assigned to fixing a value for the Ryukyuan yen. The Japanese yen had been given the "unified" rate of 360 to the dollar in February 1949, and it was agreed without significant opposition that the separate and independent Ryukyuan yen deserved the same unified-rate treatment. With the aid of some lists of Okinawan and Japanese prices and a dimly-remembered notion of the purchasing-power theory of foreign exchange, I concluded that Ryukyuan prices were roughly one-third of the corresponding Japanese ones. This made one Ryukyuan yen equal to 3 Japanese yen, so that 120 Ryukyuan yen was worth a dollar. There was no time to check my "eyeball" index-number computation with a more accurate one; statistical weighting of the various commodities seemed even less practicable in the undeveloped Ryukyuan economy. My recommendation was accepted without any opposition that I can remember; I have ever since boasted of being the only international economist of my acquaintance who has ever come so close to setting an exchange rate by himself. The 120-to-1 rate was in fact not a bad guess; it remained in effect for the entire subsequent (9-year) lifetime of the Ryukyuan currency. In 1958, the U.S. apparently abandoned any hope of an independent Ryukyuan economy, and put the Ryukyus on the dollar standard--still at 120 to the dollar-- abolishing the Ryukyuan monetary system as a step to closer association with the U.S. ( This policy was itself reversed in 1972, when the Ryukyus were returned to Japan. Meanwhile the dollar had been devalued relative to the Japanese yen, with losses to the previous holders of the Ryukyuan yen. These losses were largely indemnified, I believe.) It was also apparent from the rudimentary Ryukyuan statistics that the Ryukyus had a positive current-account balance with the U.S., the islands' only legal trading partner at that time. This arose because the dollar value of wages paid to Ryukyuans by the American military exceeded the dollar value of American net commercial exports to the Ryukyus. (I do not believe that relief goods entered into the computations.) The question therefore arose, how the Ryukyuan surplus, or the American deficit, should be settled. I had what I thought was an obvious answer ready to hand: The Ryukyus should be permitted and indeed encouraged to import American consumer and investment goods, especially textiles and building materials, in view of their miserable standards of living and housing. This recommendation was however questioned by an Army finance officer with the exalted rank of colonel, attached to the Military Governmnent of the Ryukyus. He opined that in the long run the Ryukyuans would be better off to establish a sound currency by taking title to some small part of the U.S. gold reserve in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and forgetting about clothing and lumber for a few more years. This well-meaning if wrong-headed alternative I was preparing to resist despite my inferiority in age and rank, when our Ph.D. economist mission chief took charge and sided completely with the colonel, just like an enlisted man in the presence of a major general! I did not know our chief well enough to decide whether he really didn't know any better, (despite his credentials), or whether he was simply exemplifying the subordination of civilian expertise to uniformed authority endemic to SCAP in Japan, its equivalent in Korea, its successor in Vietnam. =========================================== Editorial =========================================== Wow, it is over. The weather was anticlimactic in my opinion. Although our southern Festers complained about the temperature, that seems to be a lame excuse since it was not necessary to leave the building even once. It did, however (and unfortunately), cause the cancellation of physical training. We attempted to break enough ice for the swim, but just were not able to break enough to make it worthwhile. To make matters worse on the swimming end of the event, Jody Foster was a no-show for the pool party. Aside from the swimming disappointments the event seems to have been a great success. However, of course, the Festers are the final determiners of this. We hope to hear from them in the days ahead. Fred =========================================== MAIL CALL =========================================== Dear Editor, There is another auction in Manila with over 700 lots of Philippine and related pieces in it that will close soon. Please send me an email at Howard@SEAsianTreasury.com and I will forward an email of the lots. There are TONS of pieces of interest to Gramsters , and I am sure most of you will find something in it. Good luck with your bids! Howard A. Daniel III =========================================== CALENDAR OF EVENTS =========================================== March 12, deadline for Bank Note Reporter MPC issue. Submitt your ads and editorial material for this special issue. Contact Mary Roloff: roloffm@krause.com. ANA National Money Show, March 21-23, 2003, Charlotte (NC) Convention Center, Contact ANA Convention Department at convention@money.org or JoeBoling@aol.com for forms to exhibit. Hours are 10-6:30 Friday & Saturday & 10-2 Sunday. Hotels are The Westin Charlotte (704-375-2623) and the nearby Hampton Inn Charlotte Uptown (704-373-0917). Howard Daniel will be manning a joint NI/NBS/IBNS club table where Gramsters can meet each other. He is also conducting a joint NI/IBNS meeting on Saturday and invites all Gramsters to the meeting's show and tell session and to meet other collectors with similar interests. Masstricht April 4-6, Valkenburg, The Netherlands, contact Jos Eijsermans, Box 3240, NL 5930 Tegelen Netherlands May 30 ? June 1 POW Conference II, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA Registration fees: $150 for general registration; $200 after 1 May 2003. (A day fee of $50 per full day, $25 per half day will be accepted at the time of registrationŻas space allows for walk-in registrants to join pre-regs.) $100 for presenters, uni/college students, senior citizens, veterans of any age, overseas participants. (Registrations must be received by 1 May to qualify.)(Presenters coming for one day may attend half of that day free; if they'd like to attend the entire day they will be asked for a $25 contribution to help defray conference costs. [Basically, all presenters and panelists are being given $50 credit.]) $50 for TRACES donors/non-working TRACES board members. $50 for Journalists may attend the exhibit opening, 1-5 Saturday afternoon at the Johnson County History Center in Iowa City/Iowa, for free; those wishing to attend the rest of the conference in order to write articles/tape reports may do so at $25 per day. The exhibit itself is free and open to the public. We are very pleased to have, per plan, some half dozen German POWs or their families with us for the exhibit and conference; as much as we would like to waive the conference registration fee, we must ask that they make a one-time $50 contribution to help defray the unavoidable costs of making this conference a reality. Berlin Study Tour participants may attend for free. Please (!) pass this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in either presenting or attending. For more information about TRACES visit www.TRACES.org. Memphis International Paper Money Show: 13-15 June, Cook Convention Center, 255 N. Main St., Memphis TN 38103-1623 Military Numismatics Summer Seminar Session I dates are Saturday, June 28, to Friday, July 4; session II, Saturday, July 5 to Friday, July 11, 2003 Link for more and general information: http://www.money.org/sumsem2003.html Link to photos from Seminar II http://www.money.org/summer2002images5.html application for military money scholarship http://www.papermoneyworld.net/news/MilitaryNumismatists Scholarship Fund 2003.pdf PCDA National and World Paper Money Convention. November 19-23, 2003. St. Louis Hilton Airport Hotel, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134. 2004 MPCFest V, reservations now being accepted. Reservations entered in order received: (Feb-Mar 2004): Roger Urce#, John Cheney#, David Seelye, Phil Goldstein, Harold Kroll, Gail Baker#, Leo May$$$, Fred Schwan. # new Fester, $ paid. $$ paid single occupancy. Running totals: total 8, new festers 3. Show n tell contact Gail Baker (education@money.org) Arrival and departure coordination: Mark Watson MCW@qnet.com Auction items coordinate : Larry Smulczenski skifla@prodigy.net, Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com Exhibits contact joeboling@aol.com ======================================== 2003 scholarship fund Donations of cash and numismatic material will be gladly accepted. Generally the numismatic material is auctioned at MPCFest, but might be sold via ebay or other places. Your scholarship donations help the hobby by sending qualified individuals to the ANA summer seminar military money class. Except for unavoidable charges like ebay fees, 100% of your donation goes to scholarships. 2003 Scholarship Donors Ed Hoffman RA Medina Dick Freyser Larry Smulczenski David Seelye Howard Daniel Steve Feller Warner Talso Pam West Mr. 691 Leo May John & Nancy Wilson Max Spiegel Gail Baker Chris Connell Bill Haines Joel Shafer Mikhail (Misha) Istomin Gary Hicks Robert Drew Contact me at: "Marcus Turner" mailto:maturner@indy.rr.com Checks should be made out to the "Military Numismatists Scholarship." or Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, Indiana 46123 USA IMPORTANT SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION The last information given in the gram did not include the official release of application/donation information. This information can be found at the link below. We encourage everyone to print copies of this information and distribute it to those who might be interested. Further you are encouraged to e-mail the pdf document to anyone you see fit. Thank you http://www.papermoneyworld.net/news/Military Numismatists Scholarship Fund 2003.pdf Marcus Turner Scholarships from the ANA: See the following location for an application for financial aid to the summer seminar: http://www.money.org/sumsemfin.html =========================================== MPC ANA Museum Project =========================================== ANA collection of MPC: Thanks to donations from Douglas Bell, Dick Fryser, Ed Beaman, David Seelye, Philip Goldstean, Michael Cummings, Ray Czahor, David Pitchford and Mr 691the ANA MPC collection is current as follows: Series 100 - [50 sen], [1Y, 5Y, 10Y, 20Y all A underprint] Series 461 - 5, [10] cents, [$1] Series 471 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $10] Series 472 - [5, 10 cents], [$1, $10] Series 481 - 5 cents, [10, 25 cents], 50 cents, $1, [$5] $10 Series 521 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, [$10] Series 541 - 5, 10, 25 cents Series 591 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1] Series 611 - [5, 10, 25 cents, $1] Series 641 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, $5, $10 Series 651 - [$1] Series 661 - [10, 25, 50c], [$5], [$1, $5] $10 Series 681 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, [$5], [$20] Series 691 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] Series 692 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1 Series 701 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] [50c etc.] = notes donated by Gramsters --Chris Connell =========================================== RESEARCH =========================================== New modification to the database you can now retrieve your password if you have forgotten at the main logon screen. Keep in mind syntax is important. The mpc database has changed its name it now going to be refered as, WW II P a p e r M o n e y D a t a B a s e This is just a hint of things to come If you are having truble loging on please inform doug bell At doug@papermoneyworld.net Papermoneyworld maintains an innovative interactive data base of all military payment certificates. Everyone is invited to enter notes in their possession or that they have observed. Visit the site at: http://www.papermoneyworld.net/user/default.asp this project is financially supported by David Seelye http://www.thempcman.net/, mailto:coinman@rochester.rr.com =========================================== Subscription information: =========================================== You can enter an email address to receive the gram by using the link below. Use this to change your address (add the new one), add a friend or enemy. http://www.papermoneyworld.net/WebMailList/Default.asp ========================================= HOT CONTACT LIST - DEALER & RESOURCE LIST Below is the BNR Press Hot Contact List. This list serves several functions. Obviously it is an outreach by the dealers listed for your business. Most of them buy and sell MPC. Others organize shows or publish periodicals, or furnish information dedicated to this field. They have supported the new Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates with their advertising. They deserve your support and patronage! Name phone fax / cell email Allens (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com American Coins & Collectibles (800) 865-3562 American Numismatic Ass'n(800) 367-9723 ana@money.org Guy Araby(562) 945-7891(310) 508-0018 guyaraby@earthlink.net Bob Baker(713) 864-3122 Ken Barr (408) 272-3247 ken@kenbarr.com Fred Bart (810) 979-3400 Dick Balbaton(508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154 RBalbaton@aol.com Keith and Suzanne Bauman (248) 647 8938 tnaksbauman@earthlink.net Joe Bissell (602) 440-0442 (602) 494-9103 BNR Press(419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 fredschwan@yahoo.com Remy Bourne(800) 789-7070 (763) 789-4747 Ed Carne (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com Champion Stamp (212)489-8130 (212) 581-8130 Cookie Jar Collectibles (301) 604-9225 cjcpi@comcast.net Guido Crapanzano [39] 2-8056228 [39] 2-4459856 Currency Dealer Newsletter (310) 515-7369 David F. Cieniewicz(205)852-7015 CGC (602) 493-4758 (602) 494-9103 sales@gradedcurrency.com Mike Cummings (863)603-9899 (863) 603-9880 mpccoin@hotmail.com Cygnet Charters(419) 734-2422 Ray Czahor (301) 604-9225 cjcpi@comcast.net Doric Coins & Currency (508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154 FUN(407) 321-8747 Philip M. Goldstein : (845) 586-4672 iwantmympc@aol.com Great Lakes Bank Note Company(419) 732-6683 IBNS joeboling@aol.com Essie Kashani(909) 627-3996 (909) 627-2776 kashani10@aol.com Lowel Horwdel (765) 583-2748 (765) 583-4584 horwdel@inshightbb.com Lyn Knight(800) 243-5211 Krause Publications (715) 445-2214 (715) 445-4087 bnr@krause.com Harold Kroll(251) 649-5134 HARBONS@aol.com Leo May (305) 271-8391(305) 720-0695 LeoMayEnt@aol.com or Wide World of Banknotes Ian Marshall(416) 445-0286 (416) 445-0286 iam@total.net Memphis Coin Club (901) 757-2515 MPCGram (419) 732-6683 MPCGram@yahoo.com Pomexport Ltd. 1-201-641-6641 / Fax: 1-201-641-1700 E-Mail: Info@pomexport.com // website: http://www.Pomexport.com Bob Reed(504) 361-5684 bobreed@rrcoins.net Fred Schwan (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 FredSchwan@yahoo.com David Seelye(585) 594-1987 (585) 594-2311 coinman@rochester.rr.com Richie Self (318) 868-9077 R. M. Smythe(800) 622-1880 (212) 908-4047 www.smytheonline.com Mel Steinberg & Son(415) 453-9750 (415) 457-4432 melsteinberg@mindspring.com Military Trader(800) 334-7165 Scott Winslow Associates (603)472-7040 (603) 472-8773 scott@scottwinslow.com George Warner(307) 672-3700 Pam West [44] 0208 641 3224[44] 0208 641 3224 pamwestbritnotes@compuserve.com ======================================= POST / BASE EXCHANGE(PX/BX/NEX) Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale, purchase or trade will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. In all cases confirm your order via email first. WANTED SECTION: Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here. Dealers and collectors who have these items, are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section as a reply. Wanted listings will run for a period of 1 month. WANTED Rendezvous with Destiny MFC Series 022 souvenir notes. Paying up to five times face value. Put your for sale notice in the Gram. =========================================== MPC Gram Staff: Publisher: Fred Schwan - MPCGram@yahoo.com Editor: Philip M. Goldstein - IWANTMYMPC@aol.com Subscription Manager:Doug Bell - doug@papermoneyworld.net Tuesday Columnist : Joe Boling - JoeBoling@aol.com Thurski Columnist: Larry "Ski" Smulczenski - skifla@prodigy.net Friday Columnist:Fred Schwan - MPCGram@yahoo.com Critic: Harold Kroll - HARBONS@aol.com Scholarship Coordinator: Marcus Turner - maturner@indy.rr.com Index & Back Issue Manager:vacant Webmaster & Technical Advisors:Doug Bell "Wiz" - doug@papermoneyworld.net Russ Walsh - russ.walsh@gte.net Fact Checker: Warner Talso - Calendar Coordinator: John & Nancy Wilson - The Boss: Judy Schwan ===== MPC Gram is published by BNR Press and papermoneyworld.com as a free service to the community of military money collectors. Your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, editorial contributions, letters, and even praise are very welcome. The entire contents including linked illustrations are copyright protected by the publishers. In the case of contributors, the copyright is protected on behalf of the creators. Please send all correspondence regarding the gram to MPCgram@yahoo.com. Thank you very much for your participation. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/