‘A local currency for local people’ - The Friar

The town of Lewes in East Sussex is printing it’s own currency, known as the Lewes pound. The currency is being produced by the local council in a bid to keep cash circulating in the local economy rather than losing money to the national stores and hence protecting the local economy from globalization. More than 70 stores in Lewes have signed up to accept the Lewes pound in their transactions.

The town have printed £10,000 worth of the new currency, which was an idea put forward by the Transition Town Lewes, which are a local developmental organization. The currency was printed on Royal Mint quality paper, with security features like UV fibres and watermarks.

People may think that this is a new fad, but historically it wasquiet common in 19th century Britian for towns or areas to have their own currencies, in fact Lewes previously had it’s own currency until 1895.

The Lewes pound has replaced the image of the Queen with that of Thomas Paine on it’s notes. Paine lived in Lewes and moved to the United States where he famously wrote the influential Rights of Man. The new currency can be bought for pounds sterling at outlets around Lewes, and can be exchanged back to pounds sterling at any time.

“Men make counterfeit money; in many more cases, money makes counterfeit men.” - The Friar

- Counterfeiting wasn’t outlawed in the United States until 1877, when the Congress then passed a bill to forbid faking the production of coins and bars.

- After the Civil War a third to a half of all notes in circulation were estimated to be fakes.

- The Treasury are enhancing the US bills design every 7-10 years, this started with the $20 dollar bill in 2003.

- The US dollar bills have magnetic ink on them, this is how the vending machines are able to read which bill is which, since it can’t decide this on size.

- Altering a coin is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of $2000.

- Counterfeiting is a felony and are punishable by up to 15 years in prison and up to a fine of $15,000.

- Anybody counterfeiting US currency abroad is subject to the same prosecution as if they were in the US.

- Coins have edges because people used to clip or shave of the edges of gold and silver coins.