"Discovering Chatham" is an ongoing series of posts on the interesting people, places, events and news from northern Chatham County, to be published on our blog every Wednesday. We hope you enjoy this first edition and let us know what else about Chatham County you'd like to discover in the comments!

Taking the concept of buying local products to the next level, Pittsboro has recently revived its local currency, the Plenty (Piedmont Local EcoNomy Tender).

Courtesy of Plenty Currency Cooperative

Capital Bank in Pittsboro is exchanging Federal Reserve notes for Plenties to consumers at a 10% discount. That is, nine Federal Reserve dollars will get you 10 Plenties. In the marketplace, the exchange rate is 1 to 1. So, say you buy $20 worth of groceries at Chatham Marketplace. You can pay 20 Plenties.

But who eats that 10% discount that customers enjoy?

Nobody, as long as the merchant keeps the Plenties in circulation by buying from other merchants or paying employees with them, says Melissa Frey, executive director of the Plenty Currency Cooperative.

Originally launched in 2002, the Plenty now has a new look, thanks to illustrator Emma Skurnick, and new denominations, which correspond with the denominations of U.S. bills. Previously, Plenties had fractional denominations, which made transactions confusing. And now that they’re backed by a bank, Plenties are more appealing.

Lyle Estill, who is now the president of Piedmont Biofuels, was a studio artist back in 2002 when the “Plenty 1.0,” as he calls it, was around. He once sold a piece of art with a hefty price tag and was left with a large stack of Plenties that couldn’t be exchanged.

“I ended up with a year’s worth of lunches at General Store Café,” he says. Estill now gives his employees the option of receiving their wages, in part, in Plenties.

Currently, about 24 businesses, mostly in Chatham County, accept Plenties. Frey hopes to get other local bank branches to sign on so that Plenties can spread to Orange, Durham, Alamance, Lee and Wake counties.

Frey says Plenties encourage people to support the businesses that are based in their community. “It just takes that whole local consciousness up a notch,” she says. “Plenties can only circulate here. I can spend a dollar at a local store, but there are no guarantees about when that dollar’s going to leave my community. Plenties force the issue. … As more and more Plenties are in circulation, that becomes tangible evidence of our strengthening local economy.”

In addition to endorsing local commerce, Frey says the program also promotes environmental responsibility. As more is purchased locally, fewer fossil fuels are burned through transportation.