Panama Currency - Sept 1942

[RWB]

Was the US paper curency circulating in Panama collected and replaced with new notes, all on the same FRB district ("C"), in 1942?

[GW]

you ask some hard questions. Not sure, but with us lending them $20 million. Most likely there were more than one district printed and used. Unlike hawaii and north aftrica they used the same seal types as us. This is a realy hard question to research on the internet.

 

16th January, 1942 : The United States took two steps towards the defense of the Panama Canal and Central America on this day. One of the actions that the United States took to help the Panama and Central America area was that of lending them $20,000,000. The purpose of the money loaned to Central America/Panama was to help speed up the process of the Pan-American Highway that had been started. This highway is the piece of land that leads to the Canal. The second action taken by the United States was also financial. The U.S. had lent $500,000 to Costa Rica to help that country build an army of its own. Costa Rica was the first country to declare war on Japan after the attack of Pearl Harbor

 

 

 

 

[RWB]

Agreed.

I hope to check the NARA files for the Canal Zone next week, but this is more of a Treasury matter, and the treasury documents are a mess.

 

The question comes from three Secret Service documents that mention authorization of two destruction committees, and the names of the members and alternates. Unfortunately, the documents don't say what was being destroyed. Permission was given in July 1942, and the committee lists are dates September 1942 - so I doubt this refers to the Arias currency of October 1-8, 1941.

 

The internet is, as is common, practically useless for real research.

 

[RWB]

Finally resolved this. Results will be in the next book "National Gold."

 

Thanks to everyone who responded or PM'd with ideas.

[Weg]

Costa Rica was the first country to declare war on Japan after the attack of Pearl Harbor? It's nice to learn at least one new thing every day; I never heard that. It seems odd that they'd declare war but had to borrow money for an army after declaring war.

 

[zeewool]

Hmmm..... I never heard that either Weg...... Yeah, I think that the war declaration was more of a political gesture of moral support rather than an intent to actually do anything war-like... Maybe it was a time zone thing? ... Costa Rica declared war on Japan on December 8th ( along with Panama, Australia, Honduras, The Netherlands, Haiti, Great Britain, Guatemala, The United States, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic).

 

Finally resolved this.

Rog, (YGM)