Guerrilla Money

So a Google search led you to this site, and you are trying to identify a note you found somewhere. Great! Let’s see if this little guide can help you.

First off – If it looks like professionally created money (even a little bit like monopoly money), check under the Japanese Invasion Money category or Victory Series.

If it looks like someone typed it out or made a mimeograph copy of it, look for a location name on it (usually near the center of the side with a serial number on it). If you don’t see that name under the ‘Provinces‘ list on guerrilla notes, then try either Palawan or Samar – these two provinces had the most number of municipalities making their own money. If all else fails, feel free to message me with a description and I will see if I can guide you in the right direction.

There were several notes that were counterfeited by all sides during the war and immediately afterwards. Many were stamped ‘Counterfeit’ during the war. These are still very collectible. Some were made by the US Armed Forces (fake Japanese Invasion Money, for example) to make the Japanese lose some power and trust.

Other notes were made by civilians trying to get rich off the fact that most guerrilla money did not have high production values.

Different ones were fake ‘Victory‘ notes, trying to cash in on the note redemption after the war.

There are some areas that did not produce any notes during the war, but where it would be convincing that they did. Several individuals have produced ‘fantasy’ notes claiming to be from WWII guerrilla groups that were unknown. These notes are selling on eBay even now, and are completely worthless. As I become aware of these notes I will include images of them with a note that they are FAKE. PLEASE do not be fooled by a ‘brand new discovery of notes that were not known before.’… It does happen, but wait until the collecting community has confirmed these notes before buying them.