OPERATION EPIC FURY SHIP SCRIP

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 15, 2026, Article 25

In the April 1 issue of MPC Gram, the newsletter for collectors of Military Payment Certificates and other military numismatic items, editor Fred Schwan noted that CNN had reached out for information about certificates that were being used in Operation Epic Fury. I don't know the outcome, but here's an excerpt from that Gram. -Editor

A few minutes later the images arrived and with only a little trouble I was able to open them.

I do not remember what I expected. Certainly not a new series of MPC. Actually, I did not expect anything. I was surprised. Amazed actually!

The first mystery is solved. There are some notes but not MPC (or even Military Pay Certificates). It would be easy to say simply, oh they are Ship Scrip, but what the heck is Ship Scrip?

The most likely possibility is that ship scrip notes are naval souvenirs without any value whatsoever in commerce. Still, there is the possibility that the notes have some unofficial value like POGs did.

In spite of my negative comments, the notes are beautiful and I would like to have a set! I anticipate putting some pressure on my CNN contact to obtain some SS notes, but that seems like a long shot.

Obviously the notes are beautiful. Each note has a navy ship making likely that these notes were issued by the navy. Dies that mean that there are scrip notes for the Air Force and army? I was so overwhelmed by the designs that I did not notice the serial numbers at first. They are most strange. Three of the six denominations are serial number 00000008 and the other three are 00000039. It is as though a collector put these sets together. Having three notes with SN 39 would normally indicate that at least 39 full sets were assembled for collectors (think Allied military lire and Philippine VICTORY notes).

The best chance of obtaining some notes might lie with the Gram/Fest community. We have a few active duty Gramsters and quite a few parents and grand parents of active duty personnel. Perhaps a little networking can turn up some notes.

For me, the only thing to do today is to wait. You on the other hand can take action if you have family members or friends overseas with Operation Epic Fury, you can contact them and inquire about Ship Scrip.