Scrip is any alternative to money, typically/originally used when the actual currency is not avaialable or not desirable for some reason. e.g. baby sitting circle in UK (maybe also here) where tokens are used instead of cash, so it isn't counted as income and you have to do your share. In the armies abroad, scrip is often used instead of currency so that it can be changed on a regular basis to make it less attractive to the enemy/ non militray personel who would be prevented from changing it into the new scrip when there was a changeover. I learned this from M*A*S*H
