Join us on Thursday, May 8 for a presentation by Dr. William Myers titled "Money, Money, Money! Government Sanctioned Counterfeiting during World War II" in the DesertView Theatre.
Counterfeiting existed since the invention of coins. Governments made it illegal but also sanctioned it as a weapon against enemies. The United States and Great Britain counterfeited Japanese Invasion Money for several occupied Asian nations, supporting operatives and guerrillas against the Japanese. The effect succeeded in the Philippines where guerrillas disrupted lines of supply, pulled soldiers away from other duties, and decreased Japanese morale via assassinations. The guerrillas also spied on the Japanese and helped direct Allied operations. The volume of counterfeit JIM pesos didn’t influence the economy, but the high volume of circulating notes led to inflation and loss of confidence in the currency.
Germany used concentration camp prisoners to counterfeit Great Britain white notes. The money paid operatives and made purchases which freed German treasury resources for other needs. Originally, the notes were intended to destabilize the British economy by damaging confidence in the British pound — decreasing buying power and complicating domestic and international commerce. This use was abandoned, and the notes were used as a source of additional cash.
Bill Myers was born at Walter Reed Medical Center in 1956 and moved with his family every 3-4 years, since his father was active duty Army — including two tours in Germany. He obtained a bachelors degree in chemistry in 1978 at Franklin and Marshall College and a medical degree at Georgetown University Medical School in 1982. He followed with surgical internship, orthopedic residency and hand surgery fellowship. He practiced In Daytona Beach, Augusta, Georgia and then Oro Valley, ending with eight years in the VA before retiring in 2016.
He joined the Army Reserves in 1987, serving as commander of the 345th Combat Support Hospital from 2001 to 2005. He also served two deployments to Iraq and one in Kuwait as well as many short missions in central and South America and Africa.
He followed numismatics since childhood, and when in Iraq developed an interest in collecting AAFES POGS which were used for change. This followed with interest in military numismatics, including several courses in military numismatics. Bill does research and writes articles and is a member of several numismatic organizations.
A new Trader Joe's to open in midtown Tucson
