1954 U.S. Military Payment 50 Cent Note P: M32A Grades vf+. Military payment certificates were a form of currency used to pay U.S. military personnel in certain foreign countries from 1946 to 1973. MPCs were created to keep U.S. currency from inflating local currencies and hampering efforts to stabilize the local economies of occupied areas. In total, 13 series of banknotes were released in denominations as small as five cents and as high as twenty dollars.