Stroud Pound

Region

United Kingdom

Associated With

Stroud Pound Co-op Ltd - administrator

Defining Feature

Paper notes requiring a 3% renewal stamp every six months

Status

Discontinued - circulation ended in the early 2010s

Overview

Stroud Pound was a local paper-currency scheme, publicly launched in Stroud in September 2009.

Its £1, £2, £5 and £10 notes were issued one-for-one against sterling and could be spent at participating businesses. Local pictures tied the series to the Five Valleys, while a 3% renewal stamp kept each note valid for another six months.

Circulation ended in the early 2010s, although accounts disagree between 2012 and 2013. Stroud Pound Co-op Ltd remains legally active, but that does not mean the notes can still be spent or redeemed.

Why It Mattered

The scheme made locality both visible and practical. Purchases depended on a participating local trader, allocations supported nominated local causes, and images of wildlife, industrial history and Laurie Lee connected the notes to Stroud. Using them meant choosing to spend within a defined local network rather than treating money as detached from place.

Origins and Administration

• Transition Stroud’s Lifestyles and Livelihoods group developed the proposal, while Stroud Pound Co-op Ltd administered the currency.
• Christian Gelleri’s workshop in Stroud brought essential features of Bavaria’s Chiemgauer model into the design.
• The co-operative was incorporated on 27 May 2009 as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital.
• Companies House records accounts made up to 31 March 2025 and a confirmation statement dated 16 April 2026.

Operating Rules and First-Year Scale

• Holders paid 3% every six months for a renewal stamp, while participating traders could recirculate or redeem the notes.
• Reported redemption charges varied: the May 2009 plan proposed 5% for individuals and 10% for businesses, the participant study recorded 3%, and the Bank of England later reported 5%.
• For the first year, the participant study reported £10,066 exchanged, £5,940 redeemed, £290 allocated to ten causes, about 180 consumer members and 44 outlets or service providers.
• The reported SP4,126 exchanged but unredeemed did not necessarily remain in active circulation; the study noted that some notes may have been collected, given away or forgotten.

Note Series, Credits and Endpoint

• The four-note launch series was unveiled on Threadneedle Street on 12 September 2009.
• The final series associated the £1 with the teasel and bee, the £2 with cloth and lawnmower history, the £5 with wildlife and the £10 with Laurie Lee; earlier plans differed.
• Launch reports credit Ronan Schoemaker with designing the notes and Steve Charlwood with producing them.
• September 2011 referred to the expected end of the then-current notes, while later accounts give 2012 or 2013 for discontinuation; the exact final trading and redemption dates remain unresolved.

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