ABSTRACT
Money means different things, depending on who holds it, to whom it is given, where it comes from, and what it is used to do. This chapter analyses the semiotic choices made by in the design of community currency paper notes from the UK in order to consider what money is and how it signifies. It examines the British examples as the form of paper notes. The chapter defines community currency and introduces concept of 'moneyness' in order 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 suggests that community currency returns money to its sender, in its true inverted form. It presents some detail about the semiotic choices in relation to their broader function.
