Totnes pound
Local complementary currency
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Totnes pound (t£) was a complementary local currency,[1] intended to support the local economy of Totnes, a town in Devon, England. It was in circulation from March 2007 to June 2019, when it was discontinued due partly to an increasingly cashless economy.
| Units of account | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | t£ |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) | Totnes |
History
The group argued that "Economic localisation is considered to be a key aspect of the transition process, and local currency systems provide the opportunity to strengthen the local economy whilst preventing money from leaking out".[2] Developed by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande the scheme was partly modelled on BerkShares.[3]
The initiative was part of the Transition Towns concept, of which Totnes was a pioneer. According to the Transition Town Totnes website, this meant that Totnes was "a community in a process of imagining and creating a future that addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of".[4]
The anticipated benefits of the Totnes Pound were:
- To build resilience in the local economy by keeping money circulating in the community and building new relationships
- To get people thinking and talking about how they spend their money
- To encourage more local trade and thus reduce food and trade miles
- To encourage tourists to use local businesses[2]
On 30 June 2019 the Totnes Pound was closed, due its declining usage caused partly by the rise of the cashless society.[5]
Value and usage
A Totnes Pound was equal to one pound sterling and was backed by sterling held in a bank account.
The Totnes Pound was re-launched in June 2014 in denominations of t£1, t£5, t£10 and t£21. The final designs featured author Mary Wesley, 'father of the computer' Charles Babbage, musician Ben Howard and social activist and philanthropist Dorothy Elmhirst.[6]
As of July 2014, more than 120 businesses in Totnes were accepting the Totnes Pound,[7] and more than £12,000 worth of the currency had been issued.[8]
Description of notes
The paper Totnes Pounds were printed on plasticised paper and had a number of security features including: watermarks, a hologram, engraved silver foil and iridescent ink.[9]
See also
- BerkShares in the US
- Chiemgauer in Germany
- Lewes pound
- List of community currencies in the United Kingdom
- Stroud pound
- "The Wörgl Experiment" of using stamp scrip as a local currency