[bratticus]

It's hard to imaging that it would take a great effort to produce counterfeit versions of the bills that I've seen online.

Is it even illegal to counterfeit a local currency?

What sort of protections if any exist?

[bratticus]

While hunting for answers to this question about "how if at all are local currencies protected from counterfeiting?" I ran across this one:

J.S.G. Boggs- The Art of Money

...IN FUN WE TRUST

...Though there is always a clear disclosure that he is exchanging art for goods and services, Boggs has repeatedly been arrested for counterfeiting in the USA and abroad. The U.S. Secret Service has raided his home and confiscated much of his artwork but he has never been formally charged.

Although the United States Treasury Department has very strict and serious laws about the counterfeiting of currency, there is one law that is above them that they seem to recognize and that is the artists freedom of expression.

Amusing, but a distraction.

[bratticus]

It boils down to two issues:

1. Having access to equipment that produces the currency that no one else has access to.

2. Having legal protections that recognize the currency.

Meanwhile drilling, and more drilling has encountered this:

Another Local Currency Launch in Britain (with video)

...Some of the notes are printed on paper made from Angora rabbit fur, which is an innovative solution to the problem of counterfeiting which has not yet struck the Bank of England.

[bratticus]

No money? Then make your own

Some shopkeepers are concerned about counterfeiting and the build-up of Brixton pounds in their till. Others see it as a novel advertising tool that could become gift vouchers, or even a collector's item.

[bratticus]

SMITH & OUZMAN PRINTS LOCAL CURRENCIES (warning: PDF link)

Smith & Ouzman has printed local currency for Lewes and Brixton as part of the
Transition Town movement to help boost local trade, bring local communities
together and strengthen local economies in preparation for a low carbon future.

In September 2008, Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, launched its own local
currency - the Lewes Pound. Following the success of the first issue, which was
valid for just one year, S&O was commissioned by The Lewes Pound Group to print
a second issue of the Lewes Pound notes with improved security print features,
higher denominations and a longer validation period.

In September 2009, Brixton followed suit and became the first urban town to
introduce its own local currency.

S&O printed notes in denominations of One, Five, Ten and Twenty-One Lewes
Pounds and One, Five, Ten and Twenty Brixton Pounds, incorporating multiple
security print features to protect the notes against counterfeiting and forgery.

A variety of overt and covert security devices were used, including watermarked
paper with embedded fibres, sequential serial numbering, ultraviolet (UV) ink that
fluoresces under UV light, micro-text and a hologram foil.

So it's "In SMITH & OUZMAN We Trust"?

[Cloud9]

In a collapse the local currency will still be greenbacks. There is so little of the real stuff floating around that it will continue to trade unless the Fed hyper inflates. I know most point to QE-1 and 2 and 3 as being hyperinflation but the truth is this is virtual money flowing from one group of computers to another. If the system hyper inflates with the actual printing of bills, then the local populace may learn what silver and gold looks like again. I wonder if anyone has calculated how long it would take to print a trillion dollars in hundred dollar bills?

[pedalling_faster]

I wonder if anyone has calculated how long it would take to print a trillion dollars in hundred dollar bills?

there was a news story recently (2010) about a mis-printed $100 bill - $100 billion worth. if you can find that story it will provide a ballpark answer.

[Cloud9]

Here is a news article that claims that it would take 72 years to print a trillion in ones.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... 360477.ece

The way Zimbabwe did it was by printing ever larger denominations of bills. I am sure government cronies were the first to get their hands on the new bills so they could buy up the ever dwindling supplies. Zimbabwe ran a flourishing black market using American dollars and South African Rands.

The logistics of trying to debase the currency by actual printing would be daunting. The government just ran into trouble trying to print its new 100’s.

I could see an issue where the government mandated that stores would have to accept SNAP cards in transactions. In a currency collapse, there might get to be a real problem in those stores being able to restock their shelves with debauched electronic transfers from the government. Under those circumstances black market trades in actual cash would flourish.

[vtsnowedin]

After hyperinflation hits people will soon learn to value things in terms of what they can trade for it. The standard price list might well be counted in terms of ammunition with the 22 long rifle round being the smallest unit and perhaps 25 of them being equal to one round of 30 caliber rifle ammo or one 12 gauge shotgun round. The price of a days labor or of a can of soup would vary with supply but the ratio of 22s to 30 cal might hold as constant as the gold to silver ratio. These are real things with real value and will hold up much better then any promise printed on a piece of fancy paper.