Totnes pound

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Local complementary currency

title: "Totnes pound" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["local-currencies-of-the-united-kingdom", "totnes", "currencies-of-england", "pound-(currency)"] description: "Local complementary currency" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totnes_pound" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Local complementary currency ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox currency"]

FieldValue
using_countriesTotnes
symbolt£
::

| using_countries = Totnes | symbol=t£ The Totnes pound (t£) was a complementary local currency, 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.

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". Developed by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande the scheme was partly modelled on BerkShares.

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".

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

On 30 June 2019 the Totnes Pound was closed, due its declining usage caused partly by the rise of the cashless society.

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.

As of July 2014, more than 120 businesses in Totnes were accepting the Totnes Pound, and more than £12,000 worth of the currency had been issued.

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.

References

References

  1. "The town already has its own currency, the Totnes pound" in [http://itn.co.uk/news/36735b4455718a9d3cebd4d7a9746540.html "Devon town bids for eco status]{{Dead link. (July 2018)
  2. [http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/totnespound/home The Totnes Pound Project] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-04-28, April 2008)
  3. (30 April 2008). "They don't just shop local in Totnes - they have their very own".
  4. [http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org Transition Town Totnes] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-04-17 , April 2008)
  5. (6 March 2019). "Totnes pound: Currency killed by 'cashless economy'". BBC News.
  6. (28 May 2014). "Meet the new faces of local currency".
  7. Woodruff, Graham. "Totnes Pound".
  8. "Banknotes, local currencies and central bank objectives". Bank of England.
  9. "Security Features".

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local-currencies-of-the-united-kingdomtotnescurrencies-of-englandpound-(currency)