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Denominations | |
---|---|
Banknotes | 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 BerkShares |
Demographics | |
User(s) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA |
Issuance | |
Central bank | BerkShares Inc. |
Printer | Excelsior Printing |
BerkShares is a local currency that circulates in The Berkshires region of Massachusetts. It was launched on September 29, 2006[1] by BerkShares Inc., with research and development assistance from the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. The BerkShares website lists around 400 businesses in Berkshire County that accept the currency.[2][3] Since launch, over 10 million BerkShares have been issued from participating branch offices of local banks (as of February 2020, nine branches of three different banks).[4] The bills were designed by John Isaacs[5] and were printed by Excelsior Printing on special paper with incorporated security features from Crane & Co. BerkShares are pegged with an exchange rate to the US dollar, but the Schumacher Center has discussed the possibility of pegging its value to a basket of local goods in order to insulate the local economy against volatility in the US economy.[6]