Three Real Dollars [Uncle] Bill

Lawrence, Kansas: Lawrence Trade Organization (currency), 2000.

Currency – $3 – created for local use within Lawrence, with the image of William S. Burroughs on recto, and his home and a cat on verso.

"Dennis 'Boog' Highberger and his band of merry activists embarked on one of the greatest experiments in Lawrence's brief history. The idea was to print and distribute a local currency (called REAL dollars), organize a non-profit agency to oversee the project (the Lawrence Trade Organization, or LTO), convince local businesses to accept the new bills and motivate the public to trade in their Benjamin bills for Burroughs bucks (the famous local beat-poet adorns the REAL $3 bill). In doing so, it was hoped, money would stay within the community instead of flying off to some far-off corporate headquarters, and the assets could be reinvested into preserving Lawrence's local character and protecting land from development."

This was a short-lived experiment.

This copy (#1388) was formerly in the collection of Lon Stacks (Detroit, MI.).

External Links:

• The Pitch (Kansas City): The Real Deal