Business

South Devon printer Colour Works has been called in to help a local town move towards self-sufficiency by producing its own currency.

The firm, in Totnes, Devon, has produced a run of £5 notes – reproductions of the 19th century ‘Totnes pound’ – for Transition Town Totnes (TTT), a group that campaigns for self-sufficiency.

Colour Works, which runs a five-colour Heidelberg SM 74, had already printed leaflets and brochures for the group.

Managing director Paul Hall said he was “shocked” by the initial request to produce the banknotes.

“I thought, we can’t do that, The Bank of England won’t like it very much,” Hall said.

“Then [TTT] explained the note would be a reproduction of the Totnes pound, which was last in circulation in 1810. Then we were very happy to help.”

Colour Works has now been commissioned to start the next phase of the project, which includes a print run of up to 10,000 of the notes, which can be used in local shops in Totnes.