Island currency off to the printers

Gulf Islands Driftwood
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
By Tony Richards

Salt Spring Islanders are about to see a return of paper money in the once-familiar one and two-dollar denominations. But they won't be in Canadian currency.

September 15 is the anticipated launch date of a brand-new Salt Spring currency, one that is expected to become popular with collectors and island visitors.

The project is the brainchild of supporters of a sovereign Salt Spring movement, but its implementation is being undertaken by a separate, newly-formed organization called the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation (SS IMF).

Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundations Directors Bob McGinn and Eric Booth - Photo by Derrick Lundy

And while most foundation directors are also part of the Sustainable Salt Spring Coalition, sovereignty booster Eric Booth stressed in an interview Friday the project remains apart from efforts to create a new nation.

"We want this to be apolitical, to stand on its own and be something people can take on its own merits."

Judging by the quality of the work that has gone into the first issue of the currency, which will total $160,000 in one, two and five-dollar bills, it may in fact stand on its own and gain widespread though local circulation.

Two local financial institutions have expressed support for the project and are expected to offer it for sale on a par with the Canadian dollar.

The design work has been entrusted to artists-designers Warren Langley and Pat Walker, who have created professional and realistic- looking bills that reflect Salt Spring. One side of each bill will bear a historical photo. The other will feature the work of a local artist, with the exception of the one-dollar bill. It will have a photo of Harry Bullock on one side and a photo of haying at the Bullock farm on the other.

The two-dollar bill will carry a picture of Matilda Naukana Harris and the five will have a picture of Sylvia Stark. Art by Warren Langley will be featured on the reverse side of both.

As of last week, arrangements had been made with Carol Haigh and Jill Louise Campbell to have their work adorn the $20 and $10 bills, respectively.

The new currency will be printed on 100 per cent cotton, as is Canadian currency, and will have built-in security precautions to prevent counterfeiting by either scanning or photocopying, Booth said.

While Booth and the SS IMF expect the new bills to be warmly received for their artistic and souvenir value, there is a wrinkle that could spell a big windfall for the island community.

During the discussions on the project, which have been under way for about a year, its proponents hit upon the idea of putting an expiry date on the bills. Each bill will expire approximately two years from the date of issue. Bills in the first printing, for example, will expire on December 31, 2003. And that's where a huge potential benefit comes in.

It's anticipated that because so much of the currency will be put away as a collector's item, or taken away by visitors, redemption rates before the expiry date could be quite low.

Indeed, Booth guesses that a substantial amount of money will be returned to local organizations.

Part of the SS IMF's mandate is to distribute revenues from the project to support local charities. Those revenues will come from unredeemed bills.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all," Booth said, to see over half a million dollars a year come back to the island.

"I'm guessing that virtually all (the bills) will not be redeemed."

He pointed to the fact that even Canadian Tire dollars have collectors. He believes that given the quality of the Salt Spring dollars, they should enjoy greater popularity.

Booth and his colleagues expect to approach local businesses soon, suggesting they purchase some of the new money for a float so they can offer customers the choice of taking the new bills in change. Last week, Booth and Bob McGinn, another SS IMF director, made a presentation to Chamber of Commerce board members, who agreed to provide their endorsement of the project.

Sale of the currency will also be offered through a website, which will aim to reach collectors, and as souvenir sets.

Other directors of the foundation are Arvid Chalmers, Don Monteith and Roy MacMillan.

Salt Spring Dollars gets a prominent mention in A History of the Canadian Dollar by James Powell, published by the Bank of Canada (2005)