Holistic Economics on Local Currency

A Brief History of Local Currencies
The presence of alternative and/or local currencies far outdates that of the national dollar. The idea of a single currency did not even come into being until the 19th century (Tibbett, 1997). In the United States, local paper currencies first appeared in the form of municipal currencies during the ‘Free Banking’ era of 1837-65 (Jayaraman & Oak, 2005). Local currencies regained popularity worldwide in the 1930’s during the Great Depression with the issuance of scrip (non-legal tender, which acts as a substitution for currency often in the form of credit) (Jayaraman & Oak, 2005).

To read more and see the academic sources that focus on Local and Complementary Currencies, CLICK HERE

This is an excerpt from a blog post by Ali Rosenblat, a friend and colleague involved in the ecovillage movement.

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