--- description: While cryptocurrency is a relatively new phenomenon, alternative currencies have been around for a long time. title: A History of Alternative Currencies Before Crypto image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108fb26ae14cd99a/698a38ecb21a9c465d506cd7/GettyImages-515131678.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Cryptocurrency](/tag/cryptocurrency/) ## Cryptocurrency Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Happened to the Alternative Currencies That Came Before Crypto  by [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 16, 2022 6:40 PM CUT  (Original Caption) Club Uses Scrip Money of Its Own. Unemployed boys who do odd jobs at the Madison Square Boys' Club in New York are paid off in scrip which is redeemable in neighborhood shops. The scrip is guaranteed by the club. Above, William Rennington (rear) and Frank Effern (front), exchange the scrip they earned at the club for assisting the janitor, and receive groceries from Mr. Paul of the Sheffied Farms Store at 502 Second Avenue. (Original Caption) Club Uses Scrip Money of Its Own. Unemployed boys who do odd jobs at the Madison Square Boys' Club in New York are paid off in scrip which is redeemable in neighborhood shops. The scrip is guaranteed by the club. Above, William Rennington (rear) and Frank Effern (front), exchange the scrip they earned at the club for assisting the janitor, and receive groceries from Mr. Paul of the Sheffied Farms Store at 502 Second Avenue.Bettmann Archive  by [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 16, 2022 6:40 PM CUT ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/"},"headline":"What Happened to the Alternative Currencies That Came Before Crypto","datePublished":"2022-12-16T18:40:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:11:35.485Z","description":"While cryptocurrency is a relatively new phenomenon, alternative currencies have been around for a long time.","url":"https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/","keywords":["Cryptocurrency"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108fb26ae14cd99a/698a38ecb21a9c465d506cd7/GettyImages-515131678.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Arpita Aneja","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108fb26ae14cd99a/698a38ecb21a9c465d506cd7/GettyImages-515131678.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Boy Redeeming Scrip Money","caption":"Boy Redeeming Scrip Money","creditText":"Bettmann Archive","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cryptocurrency/","name":"Cryptocurrency"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/","name":"What Happened to the Alternative Currencies That Came Before Crypto"}}]}] ```