Allied Military Authority currency, 50 Pfennig note for use in Germany

Allied Military currency (AMC), valued at a 1/2 mark, printed and distributed for use in Germany by the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT), from September 1944 to June 1948. During and immediately after World War II, the Allied powers worked cooperatively to issue special currency for Allied troops in countries they had liberated or newly occupied. The goal of the joint currency issues was to protect local economies from inflation or weakening of their currency, and to present a united front to countries they were occupying and those they were still fighting. The currency was produced for Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Japan. All of the production was carried out in secret, and the printing effort for each country was given its own code name. The printing of the Allied Military (AM) mark for Germany was known as Operation Wild Dog. The United States did the majority of the printing for the notes used in each country, but the Soviet Union insisted on being allowed to print a portion of the notes for use in Germany. With the ability to print their own notes, the Soviet Union was able to ignore the wishes of the other allies, and issue large numbers of AM marks to Soviet troops. This indiscriminate printing led to inflation issues in occupied Germany. On June 20, 1948, the American, British, and French occupation zones of Germany converted to a new currency, and the Soviets followed suit a few days later.