us currency left the gold standard in october 1976.
us currency left the gold standard in october 1976.
when did us currency leave the gold standard?
october 1976
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to reduce profiteering from currency arbitrage, the u.s. military devised the mpc program. mpcs were paper money denominated in amounts of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, and starting in 1968 20 dollars. unlike us currency, these certificates were issued under the authority of the department of war (later department of defense) rather than the department of the treasury. consequently they do not bear the us treasury seal found on virtually every example of us currency. mpcs were fully convertible to u.s. dollars upon leaving a designated mpc zone, and convertible to local currencies when going on leave (but not vice versa). because they were and are not obligations of the us treasury, they are (unlike all us currency) no longer redeemable. it was illegal for unauthorized personnel to possess mpc, and that policy, in theory, eliminated u.s. dollars from local economies. although actual greenbacks were not circulating, many local merchants accepted mpc on par with us dollars, since they could use them on the black market. this was especially evident during the vietnam war when the mpc program was at its zenith. to prevent mpc from being used as a primary currency in the host country and destroying the local currency value and economy, mpc banknote styles were frequently changed to deter black marketers and reduce hoarding. a "conversion day" or "c-day" was the soldiers' only chance to trade in their old mpc for the new issue, after which the old mpc became worthless.
military payment certificate