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Framed art, the size of large bank notes, hang on the walls at the Ibsens Hotel in Copenhagen. I’m sitting in the café adjacent to the hotel lobby. The art around me is neatly hung with a Mondrian eye for space, line and color.

Some paintings are done in watercolor or acrylic, while others are in pen and ink. A few look as if professional artists or art students created them, while others look as if my 8-year-old niece or 5-year-old nephew drew them.

But expertise or artistic flair doesn’t matter here. This art has purpose and value; it’s treated as cold, hard cash (and yes, it’s art).

This is Artmoney and it’s used as an alternative currency here at the hotel. Artists bring in their framed work and use it for full or partial payment towards a hotel room or meal. The art is then hung and sold to patrons, hotel guests and collectors of Artmoney.

Each artistic bank note is worth roughly 200 Danish Kr. or about $34 US. It holds the same value to every artist and every business.

Danish artist Lars Kraemmer thought up the idea of Artmoney late one night in Copenhagen, in December 1997. As he writes on his website, he had hit hard times and needed to make ends meet. He thought of “making money.” Money was the means; art was the end.

Once the idea stuck, Kraemmer then set to work on his currency art project. He cut paper into pieces that were slightly larger than a regular Danish Kroner (but smaller than a typical painting) and he then set out to barter with local businesses. A few years later Kraemmer went global with his international art project.

Today, over 1,000 artists from 42 countries create Artmoney. The Ibsens Hotel, here in Copenhagen, was the first hotel to accept Artmoney. Currently over 100 hotels, restaurants, and businesses do. And by one estimate, more than $80 million dollars have been issued.

Because Artmoney holds its value, it’s possible more businesses will accept this alternative form of payment and perhaps more artists will take part. And for those who are tired of currency fluctuations could see Artmoney as one commodity that will hold steady in these uncertain times.