I have been working in this set for some time and thought i would share it with you The Series 691 was originally slated for use in Korea but was never issued they did however complete two printings which by mpc standards Was very low here are the totals below: $1 1st printing: 6,720,000 2nd printing: 6,720,000 Total: 13,444,000 $5 1st printing: 1,600,000 2nd printing: 1,600,000 Total: 3,200,000 $10 1st printing 1,600,000 2nd printing: 1,600,000 Total: 3,200,000 $20 1st printing 2,000,000 2nd printing: 4,000,000 Total: 6,000,000 Will post more facts about this set soon, enjoy!
Wanted to get that up before i timed out..LOL, Here,s another reason why the availability is so low on these especially on the $5 and $10 denomination notes most were destroyed! only a handful from the first printing Made it out alive and in to circulation so i would consider those to be a great rarity indeed, the photo below shows a distruction party disposing of millions of dollars of mpc Circa 1970 so you have to wonder about populations? well below stated numbers? The below photo would of covered Series such as 641,661,681 anything in the Vietnam era just before or during there time in circulation but this happened to allot of retired mpc,s Regardless of the series!
The $1 and $5 used recycled designs from the Series 541 issue, albeit with colour changes - I'd really like to get the $5 from both of them - but the fives from those earlier series can be real stinkers price wise. And the five from the Series 691 is usually the priciest of the whole set also. Some of the notes used in 'Nam came home - to become the beginning of my nascent paper money collection a few years later.
The Army Finance Museum at Ft. Jackson SC has thousands of Series 691 and 701 notes in their possession.
The "MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION" will they ever be released?? Also you have to ask yourself why?, though it would be a great benefit to the collector of military payment and the educational community there motivations would be Little, i guess we could pump more money in to the various military funds maybe that would help??
You our correct on the design recycling, i really like the blue design on the one dollar in the 541 over the gray in the 691 but that,s just me As far as values and over all scarcity go though the $5 and $10 our close i would have to give the nod to the $10 as you see allot less of though,s then you do The $5, if you had two equally graded notes let,s say a pair of 67,s the $5 would retail at between $2,500- $2,750 and the $10 would be between $2,900-$3,100 This is from many years of dealing graded mpc,s ( i would say this would be an average, populations in gem are extremely low!!) though you may get lucky and pay A little less but i would consider that a great deal!!
More important are the unknown number of Series 691 and 701 notes still held by the original source of those that are on the market, the enigmatic Mr. 691/701. If you track the serial numbers of notes appearing for public sale you will see that they are continuing to slowly filter into the market. It is true that the supply has slowed recently but new notes are still coming on the market. For many consecutive years new notes appeared on Ebay from a USellit Store in Fort Wayne in April or May.
The 521 and 541 and 691 $5s have yet to find their way into my collection. I did buy the 691 $1 a few years ago. I only collect the ones with feminine vignettes, so the 701's are off my radar.
I have noticed the same but i dont think that introduction would affect the price in any measurable way, especially in the upper gem grades, the USell it store that your speaking of Is actually in Fishers, Indiana which is a suburb of Indianapolis which is about 65 miles south of Fort Wayne, i just moved from there 6 months ago that,s how i know The unknowns are huge in the Mpc world that,s for sure!
I think it,s your lucky day especially in the Series 701 market have noticed a marked decrease over the past year notes that were going in the $1,800-$2,000 range have know come down In the $1,100 to $1,500 range, i doubt it will get as bad as the Series 651 market values which have really been sluggish, new a guy that paid $8000 for a raw set which was gem when They first came out and if he went to sell being raw i doubt if he could get a 1/3 of his money back the $10 note has flooded the market by dealers that dont give a dang once a proud Note, now can me had for under $200 in 66, $125 to $175 for a 65
