CLASSIC: The Rise and Fall of Local Scrip: Alternative Currencies of the Great Depression
Ridiculous History
iHeartPodcasts
4.2 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 July 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Summary
Have you ever been so broke that you ended up creating your own currency? It may sound like a crazy idea today, but during the Great Depression multiple communities actually created and circulated their own forms of local currency. And this wasn't a lark -- it was a matter of survival. Listen in to learn more about some of the precedents for the (world-famous) BenBucks.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | fellow ridiculous historians, this week's classic episode is hopefully aspirational for you. |
| 0:06.5 | Have you ever run out of regular state-approved currency and started to try, |
| 0:11.9 | started your own thing like Ben Bucks or Noel Nichols or Max Mullah? |
| 0:17.8 | Absolutely. |
| 0:19.0 | Happens every day. |
| 0:20.0 | And given the state of the economy these days, it might be a smart thing to look into for the future. |
| 0:26.4 | No, we're kidding. |
| 0:27.1 | It's always a bad deal for them what bear these notes. |
| 0:32.1 | Yeah. |
| 0:32.8 | Caviaget. |
| 0:33.2 | The company store. |
| 0:35.2 | Yeah, 16 tons indeed. |
| 0:37.5 | It might sound, like you were saying, |
| 0:39.1 | it might sound like a bonkers idea in 2026, |
| 0:43.4 | outside of NFTs and crypto. |
| 0:44.9 | But during the poorly named Greek Depression, |
| 0:48.8 | a lot of communities banded together. |
| 0:51.5 | They couldn't trust Uncle Sam's currency, so they made up their own local currency. |
| 0:57.6 | And in this case, it's actually not a bad idea. I don't mean to malign the whole concept. |
| 1:02.0 | If you have like intentional communities and you agree upon what things are worth, by all means, go with God. |
| 1:07.5 | But we are also referring to situations where folks were given very vaguely, you know, |
| 1:13.8 | valueless currency and that they could only use at certain places. |
... |
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