Ithaca HOURS

Categories: Marketing, Trading

Go to Paris, you'll need some euros. Go to Tokyo, you'll need some yen. Go to Ithaca, NY...and you'll need some HOURS.

The Ithaca HOUR is the name of a local currency used in the upstate New York town. Founded by local resident Paul Glover (who would unsuccessfully run for mayor in 2003), the currency was launched in 1991.

One HOUR is pegged at $10. The name comes from the fact that, when it launched, $10 represented about an average hour's wage in the region (remember, it was the early 1990s). It's in all caps because, well...people from New York are pretty loud.

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