UK local authorities issueing own currencies

[Otoh]

"This money can then either be cashed, or used electronically to pay bills online or even with a mobile phone."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-16852326

backed by fiat £s but totally legal with FSA approval which looks like a good precedent for BTC

[Hawker]

"This money can then either be cashed, or used electronically to pay bills online or even with a mobile phone."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-16852326

backed by fiat £s but totally legal with FSA approval which looks like a good precedent for BTC

Lots of towns have them.  The problem is that it gets to be hassle and the schemes die.

[realnowhereman]

Lots of towns have them.  The problem is that it gets to be hassle and the schemes die.

This.

But by definition, Bristol pounds must stay in the city. Spend a tenner in a Bristol bakery, and they must use it to pay their suppliers or staff. In turn, those companies will have to use the money within the local economy.

"So you're telling me that these bristol pounds are worth exactly the same as the money I already have but with the additional exciting new feature that I can only spend them in Bristol?  Wouldn't that make them less valuable than the money I already have?"

I doubt there is much depth on the buy side. :-)

[Otoh]

re both posts above, indeed it looks a remarkably stupid idea that would just appeal to buractrats & polatitions with nothing better to do than self promotion, my only interest was that it is a DIY currency/store of value & it has FSA approval, the key here may be the Credit union thingie or what ever it was that adds legitimacy I guess so of interest for BTC & how maybe to go about getting regulatory approval so that finally Intersango can get UK banks to manage their transactions without it breaking all the time

the FSA though may just be indulging the Bristol £ as it's sure to go TU very soon & presents no threat, actually I should enter the design competition now - I can think of lots with graduating cup sizes of hot model's bristols as the denomination increases, might actually make the issue a winner too

http://www.bristolpound.org/index.php?com=pages&page=43

someone should send this to Fark for their photoshop competition  

[film2240]

I've heard of a few towns in UK as well using their own adopted currency (which has parity to UK GBP but only useful in their locations). I think they got this idea from us (sort of). They tend to 'encourage' the local economy to be ready (thrive) for a time when things nationally become more difficult.

I think it's a step in the right direction (or is it I ask?) because they seem determined to standout from the rest (possibly)

I don't know too much about the idea or the names of the towns that started to use it.All currencies I think should be backed by something for them to guarantee their survival (even the price of a commodity is better than nothing,if precious metals or scrap metals are not used in their valuation)

I wonder what it takes to start your own (real-world) currency (as creating a P2P virtual currency is too complex and the last time I proposed it on here months ago,people here were not happy.It's not reasonable to expect everyone to be able to code.)?

Also something to add to this thread:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8245276.stm

No money? Then print your own article.

We all wish that we could become rich by printing our own currency (I know I do) but as we all know,it's not as simple as that.

[jago25_98]

interesting.
They had a thing like this in argentina. It's just about still going since it moved from a way to survive to less critical.

The idea of a local currency is to divide off a section of the economy a little, but we know this is not a water tight thing. This way we hope if the main economy goes tits up then this should continue.

Of course the bristol pound being tied to uk pound sterling doesn't seem to make alot of sense to me.
The idea of most local currencies is to quartarise the damage from larger economic problems...
 
It's an interesting insight into people's perceptions once again. Hopefully people will access whether to use the currency and ask questions such as who is the issuing authority. It's a fantasic power play for bristol council... If they are the issuing authority.

Shizzle ma nizzle it's the new brizzle

You're in the desert. You meet someone. You buy some water for $100. You think that's a transaction involving just you and them. But actually it also involves:

- the currency issuer
-everyone who pays, or would pay for water
-anyone who is influenced by each of these parties
....this tends to effect everyone... And you just wanted a drink.

[byronbb]

Island off the coast of British Columbia has their own currency too.

[qualalol]

Jersey also has it's own pound, exchanged and usable 1:1 with GBP in Jersey, but useless in the UK. The coins are very similar but of slightly differing shape/dimension, the banknotes are noticeably different.

PS. these are in general not separate currencies, they are simply separate issues of the same currency. I.e. there is only one pound, issued as english pounds (the usual stuff you see), scottish pound (simply different banknotes including the addition of a £1 note, most scottish pounds are accepted in most of the UK), jersey pound (different banknotes and coins, and only legal tender in Jersey) etc.

Edit: turns out scottish pound isn't legal tender anywhere, english pound is legal tender in England/Wales, Jersey pound is legal tender in Jersey/Guernsey... All can in general be exchanged at banks and post offices, some are accepted in different areas etc.