Coinage

[trollson]

Its quiet on the forum today, so I thought I'd squeeze these few thoughts in...

 

EL coinage is predominantly gold, with some very high value platinum.

 

Historically, platinum coins didn't exist. In modern times they have been minted as a form of bullion not as a currency.

 

In medieval times, it was silver which was the currency of trade. The British Pound was originally 16 oz of legal silver (75% pure, the trading standard of the day), while the old German Mark was 8 oz.

 

If it was up to me (and fortunately it is not!), there would be three sets of coinage in the game:

• copper based coinage for the peasants (the decimal fractions of a gp in the current game).
  
• silver coins for general trade (in place of the present gps).
  
• gold coins as the currency of Nobles and the State (in place of platinum).
  

Difference items would be priced in different coinages, and the right coins would be needed to purchase those items. So, bread and ale would be priced in copper coins, swords and armour in silver, and major works (forts) in gold.

 

Add in mining copper, refining copper, silver, and gold bars to bullion (bars of a required purity), and minting coins from those. Note that this needn't be a license to 'mint' money, since you can already sell the metal bars for cash.

 

Finally, give the coins better names (pennies, shillings, pounds for anglophiles).

[rasberrybeard]

I hate to say it but.... whats the point? noone uses the platinum as it is.

[trollson]

I hate to say it but.... whats the point? noone uses the platinum as it is.

174218[/snapback]

 

Not much of one, I was just mulling

 

However, some really large items (by which I mean major buildings, castles, forts, countries...) could be priced in platinum (in EL terms).

[warmastermage]

People would use platinum coins more if the inns had a free money exchange service which they dont they rip you off for about 100gc