Is it legal to create a new currency?
What’s stopping me from creating a new currency?
I don’t want to use dollars any longer. I’d like to create a new currency and begin circulating it into society. Let’s call them Reals.
I’ll print them off on my ink jet printer and base their value upon my personal assets. By receiving a Real, you are receiving a note that represents your ownership in the assets.
You can stop by any time and check on the security of the assets. Or cash in your Reals and walk away with your portion.
Would the US Government allow this?
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Hear that “knock, knock, knock” on your front door? thats the Secret Service wanting to have a serious talk with you. its a Federal violation to print or in any way interfere with U.S. Currency.
The only place your idea might work would be on an Indian Reservation.
So I’d have to establish my own nation first?
Probably. don’t forget you have to have gold reserves to backup your new money.
Hah! Wouldn’t it just be easier to implement a barter system?
I say lets go back to paying the doctors with fresh eggs and baskets of potatos.
Beads, seashells, well…not furs…that would violate my ethics of nature preservation.
I think the wave of the future is a return to the 60’s commune lifestyles, especally for the elderly.
I have enteratined a fantasy about buying a 100 acres and building small, energy efficient individual cabins and create a cooperative community.
But..that’s my bohemian throwback talking, lol
There are examples of local currencies in action. The Berkshares for instance (http://www.berkshares.org/) keeps the money within the local economy of the Berkshires by creating a local currency.
The issues with this revolve around convincing other people to adopt it. What are the benefits of your currency? Do they get local discounts? Is the currency only good when exchanging directly with you, making it a fun way for your friends and family to support your entreprenuerial endeavors? Hopefully, those who adopt your “REAL” will be moral enough to not photocopy your inkjet printout currency. This could seriously devalue your currency and destablize your economy.
Also, you may want to choose a different name then REAL, seeing that a currency with that name already exists in Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_real)
Corporations do that now when they sell shares of stock.
Not unless you are the Federal government.
There are Linden dollars and Second Life got away with it. It seems legal.
well, if it had backing in actual assets then you’d be a step ahead of the government.
Like the government, it would be pretty tempting to debase the value of your __Reals__
Let me know if you pull it off….I’d like a stake in a Leica…....or the Land Camera.
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