Alternative currency/US

Conclusions
While complementary and local currencies seem to be tolerated by the US federal government, any currency which goes outside of those two overlapping boxes risks harsh penalties.

The successful Liberty Dollar project is the most obvious example of this, though it is arguable that they might not have gotten into trouble if they had not issued coinage (in violation of USC 18 &sect;486).

Related

 * US/money/history
 * National Bank Act of 1863-4

List of currencies
this is only a partial list; there are many more
 * BerkShares - local currency for The Berkshires region of Massachusetts (2011: still active)
 * Fourth Corner Exchange : privately-run community currency in Pacific Northwest, but software is open source; has begun spreading to other areas
 * Ithaca Hours - local currency in Ithaca, NY
 * member of the Time/Bank network
 * Liberty Dollar : shut down by Federal government on an absurd charge of counterfeiting and possible violation of a US statute (USC 18 &sect;486) prohibiting alternative coinage
 * NCPlenty (web): local currency in North Carolina; no apparent activity since 2006
 * Phoenix Dollar (archive.org, 2006): appears to be defunct; metal-backed. Possibly a scam.
 * 2007-07-08 Interview With Gordon Hayes Creator Of Phoenix Dollar Pt. 1 of 2

To File

 * 2011-03-22 JOURNAL: Alternative Currencies by John Robb (founder of the Metacurrency Project)
 * note especially g48's comments on what the IRS reportedly told the founders of Ithaca Hours
 * 2011-01-12 Virginia HR 557 sponsored by Republican delegate Robert G. Marshall proposes that the Virginia state government create an alternative metal-backed currency, and gives evidence that state governments are allowed to do so.
 * 2009-06-22 Alternative Currency: Now a Crime?: "the creators of some of the most interesting and successful alternative currencies — the Hawaiian Dala, the California Bear, the Chambersburg Dollar, the Evansville Dollar, the Liberty Dollar, the Peace Dollar, and the Ron Paul Dollar, among others — have been arrested by the FBI (for totally bogus charges under statutes intended to stop counterfeiting). They are Kevin Innes, Bernard von NotHaus, Sarah Bledsoe, and Rachelle Moseley."