--- title: A History of Alternative Currencies Before Crypto description: While cryptocurrency is a relatively new phenomenon, alternative currencies have been around for a long time. canonical: https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/ author: Arpita Aneja article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-12-16T18:40:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:11:35.485Z article:section: History og:title: A History of Alternative Currencies Before Crypto og:description: While cryptocurrency is a relatively new phenomenon, alternative currencies have been around for a long time. og:url: https://time.com/6241831/alternative-currencies-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108fb26ae14cd99a/698a38ecb21a9c465d506cd7/GettyImages-515131678.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Boy Redeeming Scrip Money og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A History of Alternative Currencies Before Crypto twitter:description: While cryptocurrency is a relatively new phenomenon, alternative currencies have been around for a long time. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108fb26ae14cd99a/698a38ecb21a9c465d506cd7/GettyImages-515131678.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Happened to the Alternative Currencies That Came Before Crypto  by [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Dec 16, 2022 6:40 PM UTC  (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](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Dec 16, 2022 6:40 PM UTC A History of Alternative Currencies Before Crypto ```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"}}]}] ```