On 27 Feb 2017 at 6:22pm Malling7 wrote:
I'm really interested, does anyone actually use them? If so, where/why?
On 27 Feb 2017 at 6:30pm Billy Bull wrote:
I did for a while but realistically don't carry cash very much these days so stopped. If there's was a preloaded Lewes debit card you could top up and had the same principle I'd use that though.
On 27 Feb 2017 at 6:45pm Billy wrote:
Presumably, the theory behind this is that people's spending remains local. It would be even better if the Lewes Pound was worth more than a £ sterling.
On 27 Feb 2017 at 6:54pm Malling7 wrote:
Yes that's what I was wondering. If there was something you wanted to buy for £20 you would have to pay with twenty individual Lewes Pound notes? Nice concept but surely not very practical?
On 27 Feb 2017 at 7:58pm David Skeet wrote:
There are higher denomination notes too but you rarely see any around these days I suspect circulation is very low and most have ended up with collectors and tourists .
On 27 Feb 2017 at 9:34pm Megawhat? wrote:
All that because of the Lewes pound?? Jeebus!
On 27 Feb 2017 at 9:36pm Megawhat? wrote:
All that because of the Lewes pound?? Jeebus!
On 27 Feb 2017 at 9:42pm mummy bear wrote:
I don't use the Lewes pound anymore as it has a use by date so it's worse than a gift card. I got stuck with £40 worth. Waste of money.
On 27 Feb 2017 at 10:51pm JillG wrote:
Hello - @Malling7, the Lewes pound comes in £1, £5, £10 and £21 (yep, £21) notes. I bought a drink in the Lewes Arms this evening with a Lewes fiver.
@mummy bear, you can return out-of-date Lewes £ to the organisers (see link) for quite a long time after expiry. An advantage of the use-by date is that it clears the system of notes which are kept by tourists as souvenirs and stuck up in bars worldwide. All the Lewes currency is backed by UK£ in the bank, so this rollover generates a modest profit which is used to keep the set-up going.
@BillyBull, there is a plan to have a Lewes £ debit card :-).
Right, that's just about all I know about the Lewes £, folks!
Check it out here »
On 28 Feb 2017 at 8:34am Sussex Jim wrote:
The Lewes pound could be more widely used to encourage people to shop locally if discounts were offered in the shops. Like the Rooks card.
On 28 Feb 2017 at 10:00am JillG wrote:
@Sussex Jim - there used to be discounts - don't know why not now.
I forgot to say re the L£ that any net profit from the 'souvenir' element is given to local causes - you occasionally see 'supported by the Lewes Pound' on event signs.
On 28 Feb 2017 at 3:12pm Tom Pain wrote:
So if a Lewes pound costs the buyer£1 sterling ,how much do they cost to print? It sounds like a license to print money! Fairly lucrative I imagine.
On 28 Feb 2017 at 5:05pm JillG wrote:
@Tom Pain, you've just failed your economics O-level. Every Lewes £ is backed by a UK£ in a bank account. You pay it to a retailer for £1-worth of goods, the retailer gets £1 back from Lewes Pound; it's like a voucher. Lewes Pound (and the expensive printing of secure notes) is funded by local businesses (interested in encouraging people to shop local) and grants, plus the welcome 'souvenir' element, and all work is done by volunteers. Have a look at their website.
Cheer up; the L£ does no harm and might do some good. Enjoy it!
On 2 Mar 2017 at 12:05pm Tom Pain wrote:
Thanks for the economic lesson. It's a very good idea to try to keep things local while the delusion that globalization can benefit anyone but an international elite is endemic. I hope it works.