BerkShares is the community currency launched in western Massachusetts in 2006 and named after Berkshire County.
The currency was developed by the nonprofit BerkShares Inc. with support from local banks and the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. Residents could exchange U.S. dollars for BerkShares and spend them at participating independent businesses, keeping more transactions within the regional economy.
BerkShares notes circulated in denominations including one, five, ten, twenty, and fifty BerkShares. The project was intended to encourage local purchasing and make the connection between consumers, businesses, and the regional economy more visible. It was not designed to replace the U.S. dollar as legal tender.
BerkShares is often mixed up with Ithaca Hours, an earlier New York community currency, or the Bristol Pound in England. Those systems are separate projects with different launch dates and regions. BerkShares specifically refers to the western Massachusetts currency associated with the Berkshires.