ABSTRACT
The phrase "money doesn't grow on trees" communicates the scarcity of money and indicates the effort required to acquire it. This chapter analyses the semiotic choices made on the paper money objects from five community currency schemes in the UK. Examination of these design choices helps to illuminate both what the money object (and its underlying system) is and how it signifies. Van Leeuwen's work on colour, typography, visual grammar, texture and semiotics generally are all crucial in this analysis. The chapter defines community currency and then introduces Peter North's concept of 'moneyness' to provide a focus for thinking about value and the semiotics of community currency. It describes how community currency notes draw on and develop existing conventions for money in relation to naming, denominations, security features and the paper on which the notes are printed. The chapter concludes by suggesting that community currency returns money to its sender, in its true inverted form.
