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I first heard about Bernal Bucks at San Francisco’s “Future of Technology & Money Summit” back in April, and now I’m sweating my way up Cortland to get the backstory on the program. Bernal Bucks are stickers purchased at specific neighborhood locations for a $1 donation fee, which goes to either the Bernal Heights Library or the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center. You stick these Bucks to $5 or $10 bills, effectively turning them into "super bills" that are worth more when you use them in Bernal. Purchases made with the marked money are rewarded with additional benefits or discounts, like a coupon, and the special offers vary from free knife sharpening at Bernal Cutlery to free lightbulbs at Cole Hardware.

At first glance, Bernal Bucks seems much like the local currency concept that's taken hold around the world – when I lived in Ithaca, New York, for example, we made purchases with Ithaca Hours. The goals are similar: to increase the "velocity of money" within a local community. Why is it important to increase velocity? Given a fixed amount of cash, the only way to create more value is to circulate it more frequently. Say you had a tiny community with a farmer, a baker, and a candlestick maker. There is only one $10 bill in this town, and it belongs to the baker. One day the baker buys $10 in wheat from the farmer, who then buys $10 in candles from the candlestick maker, who then buys $10 in bread from the baker. The town now feels $30 richer, all from just one $10 bill. The quicker that $10 circulates, the higher its velocity.

But enough with the armchair economics lesson. Let's go shopping.

As I wander back toward the bustle of Good Life, I notice a red-bearded man waltz into Heartfelt and order a bouquet of flowers.

Heartfelt is an eclectic store selling greeting cards, gifts, candy, fresh cut flowers, kitchen utensils, and practical joke supplies. Owner Darcy Lee is passionate about supporting neighborhood merchants. It was her suggestion that the outdoor space behind nearby Four Star Video be used for a plant shop – it’s now called Succulence. She sells fewer plants at Heartfelt as a result of the new business, but she tells me she harbors no ill will about that fact. "We all want each other to succeed," she says. This sentiment is echoed on a small card taped to a cage housing two birds, a note recommending customers check out the exotic pet store on 24th Street.

“Red Beard" patiently waits for his flowers to be arranged and picks through a bin of small buttons near the register. He pays with two $20s and receives a $10 Bernal Buck in change. I’ve given up on my covert operation, so I chat with him as he walks out of the store, explaining that I'm following Bernal Bucks around the neighborhood. He’s headed home, but he assures me he can easily reap his rewards since he does most of his daily shopping on the hill.