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Encyclopedia > Scrip

Scrip is any substitute for currency which is not legal tender, and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns or occupied countries in war time. When U.S. President Andrew Jackson issued his Specie Circular of 1836, due to credit shortages, Virginia Scrip was accepted as payments for federal lands. Other forms of scrip include subway tokens, arcade tokens and tickets, and "points" on some websites. Look up substitute in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Legal tender or forced tender is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt denominated in the same currency by virtue of law. ... Credit as a financial term, used in such terms as credit card, refers to the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. ... For other uses, see Andrew Jackson (disambiguation). ... The Specie Circular (Coinage Act) was an executive order issued by U.S. President Andrew Jackson in 1836 and carried out by President Martin Van Buren. ... Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...


Scrips have gained historical importance and become a subject of study in Numismatics or Exonumia due to the fact of the wide variety and abundance of them. Numismatics is the scientific study of currency and its history in all its varied forms. ... Exonumia is the study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. ...

Contents

History

Company scrip was a credit against the accrued wages of employees. In the United States, where everything in a mining or logging camp was run, created and owned by a company, scrip provided the worker with credit when their wages had been depleted. These remote locations were cash poor. Workers had very little choice but to purchase meals and goods at a company store. In this way, the company could place enormous markups on goods in a company store, making workers completely dependent on the company, thus enforcing their "loyalty" to the company. While scrip was a de facto form of currency, employees were rarely paid in scrip. Additionally, while employees could exchange scrip for cash, it was rarely done so at face value. Scrip in this context was valid only within that area or town where it was issued. While store owners in neighboring communities could accept the scrip as currency, they rarely provided a 1 for 1 exchange. This was to avoid the risk of having coins/currency that were worthless anywhere else. Company scrip is currency issued in certain industries to pay workers. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... Loggers on break, c. ... Camps are often set up for workers involved in logging, fishing, mining or other activities of natural resources extraction, if these activities take place far from civilization. ... For the coarsely ground flour, see flour. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A truck system is an exploitative form of employment — or, more specifically, unfree labour — under which workers are: paid in a form of limited direct credit or tokens, which may only be used at a company store, owned by their employers, or; paid in unexchangeable goods and/or... For the band, see The Police. ... Loyalty is faithfulness or devotion to a person or cause. ...


Scrip as a de facto form of currency within the setting of the mining or logging industry was discontinued around 1952. This was not due to the "right to seignorage" or the right for a country to mint currency without it being violated.


Scrip is also related to the stock market where companies pay dividends in the form of scrip rather than paying actual currency. It is also a written document that acknowledges debt.


Modern use

Scrip is now issued in the form of gift certificates, or gift cards. The two are essentially the same, except that the cards automate the checkout and accounting processes. Cards usually have a barcode or magnetic strip, which can be processed through a standard electronic credit card machine. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... CR80 ISO standard card, 2-3 stripes. ...


Cards do not have any value until they are sold, at which time the cashier enters the amount which the customer wishes to put on the card. This amount is rarely stored on the card, but is instead noted in the store's database, crosslinked to the card ID. The major exception is in many public transport systems, and library photocopiers, where a simplified system (with no network) stores the value only on the card itself (a stored-value card). To thwart counterfeiting, the data is encrypted, though not very strongly given the relatively low amounts of money involved. The magstripe is also often placed differently than on credit cards, so they cannot be read or written with standard equipment. A stored-value card represents money on deposit with the issuer, and is similar to a debit card. ...


Gifts cards are increasingly being offered as consumer incentives at no cost or for a substantial discount. For example, reward points given for the use of credit cards can be exchanged for a variety of gift cards and some companies will offer high value gift cards at a discount. Gift cards are readily available at a discount using online trading services.


There are websites that allow users to trade, donate, buy and sell gift cards. Sellers use these websites because the gift card is not to a store of their liking, and buyers because this provides opportunities to buy these cards for less than they are nominally worth at the business.


Issues

Unless the gift card is obtained at a discount (paying less than the actual value of the card), some point out that trading real money for scrip is unproductive as it then ties up that money until it is used, and usually may only be used at one store. Furthermore, not all gift cards issued are redeemed.


VISA, MasterCard and American Express gift cards are not connected to any credit card or bank account. So once the predetermined funds are consumed, the card number becomes dormant. Gift card holders are thus able to make riskier Internet purchases, without the fear of having to persuade a merchant to stop pulling funds from them, once the card balance is depleted. Visa or VISA has several meanings: Look up visa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Visa (document) — a document required to enter a specific country. ... MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card. ... American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as Amex, is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ...


VISA and MasterCard also have re-loadable Debit Cards. This article needs cleanup. ...


One disadvantage of gift scrip is that some gift card providers will charge "maintenance fees" on the cards, particularly if they are not used after a certain period of time, or the card will expire after a given period of time. Some US States (e.g. Massachusetts) have enacted laws to eliminate non-use fees or expirations but the buyer should review the gift card conditions prior to purchase. This article is about the U.S. State. ...


It was even critisized on Dilbert as "The same thing as money, except more restricting". Title Scene Intro The Gruntmaster 6000 Scene From Episode 3 Dilbert is an animated television series spin-off of the comic strip of the same name. ...


Military scrip

Examples of occupation and military scrip used on the British Channel Island of Guernsey during the German Occupation (1940-45)
Examples of occupation and military scrip used on the British Channel Island of Guernsey during the German Occupation (1940-45)

Military personnel deployed in other countries (protective or occupation) are generally paid in military scrip, which prevents legal tender from going into the black market, plus it is an excellent way of keeping tabs on military payments and spending. This type of scrip can be exchanged through the military for legal tender upon return to the home nation. Military occupying powers have also been known to issue occupation scrip for local civilian use as a means of controlling the local economies. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...


See also

The main denominations of Canadian Tire money Canadian Tire money (CTM) is a loyalty program by Canadian Tire. ... Disney Dollars is a form of corporate scrip used at Disney theme parks, The Disney Store and at certain parts of Castaway Cay, the Disney cruise-lines private island. ... An Eighth Hour, part of the local currency system of Ithaca, NY. Ithaca Hours is a local currency in Ithaca, New York. ... Chiemgauer is the name of a REGIO community currency started on 2003 in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany. ... During the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called hansatsu ) for use within the domain. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Scrip - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (939 words)
Scrip is any substitute for currency which is not legal tender, and is a form of credit.
Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns or occupied countries in war time.
Scrips have gained historical importance and become a subject of study in Numismatics or Exonumia due to the fact of the wide variety and abundance of them.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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