Introduced to boost and celebrate the local economy, The Lewes Pound is a creative yet practical way for local people to make money work for their town of Lewes in East Sussex. Based on a simple economic principle that most money spent in local shops stays local. It was the second town in the UK to issue its own currency.
We teamed up with illustrators Hudoq to develop the design of the £1 Lewes Pound, and subsequent 4 other denominations that followed of £5, £10 and £21. Thomas Paine, a famous resident of Lewes, was used as the figurehead for the notes. An English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary, his Common Sense pamphlet and Crisis papers influenced the American Revolution. The backs of the notes depict local and historical landmarks and events in Lewes, including the castle and the infamous bonfire nights.
The British Museum hold a set of the Lewes Pound notes in their collection. Joe Cribb, Keeper of Coins and Medals for the British Museum kindly commented that 'Yours is by far the most attractive of the local issues made recently in the UK'.
