United States · Military Payment Certificate · Series 681

MPC Series 681 — One Dollar (Vietnam, 1969–1970)

$1.00 · Aug 11 1969 – Oct 7 1970 · Exclusive use in Vietnam

Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com Collection

Country United States — exclusive circulation in Vietnam

Issuing Entity U.S. Department of Defense (US Department of Defense)

Type of Issue Military Payment Certificate (Military Payment Certificate, MPC) — scrip for authorized personnel; no Treasury note

Denomination $1.00 (One Dollar)

Series / Validity Series 681 — issued August 11, 1969; withdrawn October 7, 1970

Printer Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) — color lithography (offset), no intaglio

Catalog Reference Fr. M915 · Schwan S915-1 · Pick M79

Print run 22,400,000 regular $1 bills. The Greensheet/CPG catalog records that print run; The highest documented regular serial is C22400000C

Replacements S915-1r, numbered through C00560000 (560,000). They replace defective regular notes; they are not added to the 22.4 million placed in circulation

Dimensions 112 × 66 mm (standard format of $1 MPC; 70 bills per sheet)

Rarity Ordinary UNC is not rare. Significant scarcity begins at PMG/PCGS 67; 68 is a condition rarity

PMG Population S915-1: 568 examples; 48 graded 67 and only 2 higher (maximum 68 EPQ). S915-1r replacements: 14 certified. A snapshot, not a complete measure of survival

Valuation Greysheet/CPG (Aug 2026): approx. 70 USD in grade 65 and 195 USD in grade 67, regular issue. Catalog valuation, not purchase offer

Conservation Uncertified. Uncirculated appears plausible in photographs, but is unconfirmed

Serial Number / Plate C10102847C · plate 3 · regular issue S915-1 (prefix and suffix C)

Historical Context

Series 681 broke with the allegorical tradition of the MPC program. Where previous series relied on symbolic figures, this one features US military personnel and materiel: a USAF pilot on the obverse, four F-100 Super Sabres on the reverse. It's the reason why today it is the series that Vietnam veterans immediately recognize.

It circulated exclusively in Vietnam from August 11, 1969 to October 7, 1970. It replaced the Series 661 in aC-Dayunannounced —the change was executed without prior notice, precisely so that no one could accumulate the outgoing series— and was in turn replaced by theSeries 692, the last official broadcast of the program.

Like the rest of the MPCs, these notes could only be used in military establishments by authorized personnel. They were convertible to local currency when leaving the permit —but not the other way around— and to US dollars only when leaving the MPC zone. The mechanism limited the black market for foreign currency and protected the local economy from excess dollars.

Rarity in Uncirculated

The jump in quality — and price— is concentrated in the highest certified grades. The table summarizes the practical rarity of the regular issue.

Practical rarity of the regular Series 681 $1 (S915-1) in certified Uncirculated grades
Certified grade	Practical rarity
UNC 60–62	Available; not rare
Choice UNC 63–64	Available, increasingly sought after
Gem UNC 65 EPQ	Moderately scarce
Gem UNC 66 EPQ	More scarce, but obtained regularly
Superb Gem UNC 67 EPQ	Genuinely scarce
Superb Gem UNC 68 EPQ	Very rare/maximum grade territory

Regular Gems are still accessible; the premium skyrockets from 67 EPQ, as reflected in the catalog valuation.

The PMG census (above) places the threshold: 67 is rare, not extremely rare; The 68 is a conservation rarity. Populations change, and PMG cautions that they do not alone measure surviving rarity.

This specimen

Serial C10102847C ends in suffix C: it is the regular issue S915-1, not the replacement variety. MPC replacements are identified by the absence of that final letter.

Color Scheme

Obverse:main print in purple on pink-terracotta guilloché background, with the pilot's portrait on the right and a starry rosette on the left under the serial number.

Reverse:jets in orange-red on a field of purple horizontal lines and white trails; upper and lower red stripes with the MPC regulatory text.

Portrait and Obverse Images

Right:U.S. Air Force pilot wearing a flight helmet, goggles on his forehead, and an oxygen mask around his neck, within an engraved oval. It continues the USAF theme of the fractional denominations in the same series (submarineThomas Edisonand Edward White's space walk).
Legends:“SERIES 681” on portrait; numeral “1” in the four corners; “ONE DOLLAR” in lower capsule; Serial number in black on the left above the starry rosette.
Regulatory text:lower strip “MILITARY PAYMENT CERTIFICATE” and the clause of exclusive use in military establishments by authorized personnel.

Reverse Images

Four USAF F-100 Super Saber fighters in a diagonal ascending formation, with “USAF” on the wings and the aircraft number visible on the fuselage. The cartoon is associated with the Thunderbirds, which flew the F-100 between 1956 and 1968.

Numeral “1” in white with red outline in the upper left and lower right corners; “ONE DOLLAR” in capsule on the left; same regulatory stripes in red.

Signatures and Seals

Unlike Treasury or Federal Reserve notes, MPCs do not bear the signatures of treasurer or secretary of the Treasury, nor the seal of the Department of the Treasury: they were issued under the authority of the Department of Defense.

Legacy for Collectors

For many Vietnamese paper collectors, the Series 681 $1 is the gateway to the MPC program. It is affordable, available regularly and concentrates in a single note everything that distinguishes the series: the portrait of the pilot, the fighters in formation and the purple scheme on pink guilloché that is not repeated in any other issue.

It is also a set-building piece. The complete Series 681 —from 5 cents to 20 dollars— can be assembled without a disproportionate investment, which is unusual for military issues. The challenge is not finding the notes but finding the grade: as detailed earlier, quality carries a premium from 67 EPQ onward.

For those looking for the next step, the replacement variety (S915-1r) is the natural objective: it shares a design and name, but its certified survival is of a different order. This issue is a regular issue.

See also the$10 Series 641and the$20 Series 692.

Sources

Bureau of Engraving and Printing —Military Payment Certificates 1946–1973 (PDF; starts a download) (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Friedberg, Arthur L. y Ira S.Paper Money of the United States— Fr. M915.The Coin & Currency Institute (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Schwan, Fred.Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates— S915-1 (regular) and S915-1r (replacement)
Schwan, Fred.Military Payment Certificates(1997), ISBN 0-931960-54-1
ANA / Fred Schwan —Military Payment Certificates (PDF; starts a download) (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Currency Price Guide (Greysheet/CPG) — regular circulation of 22,400,000; quote approx. 70 USD (grade 65) and 195 USD (grade 67), August 2026.Greensheet / CPG (new window)(opens in a new tab)
PMG Registry — S915-1 population (568 examples; 48 graded 67; 2 higher; maximum 68 EPQ) and 14 certified S915-1r replacements. Snapshot; figures change.Catalog entry S915-1 (highest serial C22400000C) (new window)(opens in a new tab)
PMG —Grade scale (UNC 60–64 versus 65+ EPQ) (new window)(opens in a new tab)
PMG —Aim High with Military Payment Certificates (new window)(opens in a new tab)(681 Series design)
Art-Hanoi —MPC Series 681 (new window)(opens in a new tab)(Pick M79)
CoinWeek / PCGS —Vietnam-Era 1969 Military Payment Certificate Series 681 (new window)(opens in a new tab)
CoinWeek —Money of Necessity: U.S. Military Payment Certificates (new window)(opens in a new tab)
World Banknotes & Coins Museum —Series 681 $1 (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Banknote.ws —P-M79 Series 681 $1 (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Society of Paper Money Collectors —Collecting U.S. Military Payment Certificates (MPC) (new window)(opens in a new tab)
Wikipedia —Military payment certificate (new window)(opens in a new tab)