Currency

I think its time that we offically decide upon the currency of Eldarus, and what each unit is worth. This is my idea, and what I am casting my vote for.



* Copper Piece = $1
* Silver Piece = $2.5
* Gold Piece = $5
* Iron Piece = $50
* Bronze Piece = $50
* Platinum Piece = $500

Or If we want to just keep the three types

1 copper = $1
1 Silver = $10
1 Gold = $50

Does anyone else have any other ideas?

I like your idea, it makes my theatre prices reasonable

I'm good with whatever. I'm going to argue because I'm bored.

Wouldn't making Iron more valuable as currency than gold or silver skyrocket the value of the many iron and/or steel weapons people run around with? Seems like it could tip the market and destabilize the economy. Sure it would create huge demand for it, but then what happens to all the miners when the mine dries up? They might go delinquent on their mortgages, have their mules repossessed, and their mines foreclosed on. Then, after a string of miners going bankrupt, blacksmiths can't get materials. Then the government steps in and bails out the blacksmiths. Instead of investing in alternative materials, they outsource their smiths to other countries where iron is more available and sell finished products here at inflated prices. The price of iron skyrockets due to import taxes and markups. Then a foreign investor shows up with supply coming from a mine overseas and suddenly we're dependent on foreign iron and we're paying through to nose to some other country. I've seen this happen before. It's very sad.

Lol I do agree with that, which is why I also suggested the Copper -Silver -Gold one. The first rates are from a Dragonlance model, where Steel is the standard rate of currency, not gold. I just was too lazy to shift it around much

Can't see Bronze being worth more than Gold. currency is of value based on rarity, bronze is a mix of copper and tin. It's relatively easy to make / get ahold of. Granted, Eldarus could have an overwhelming amount of gold around, but you see my point.

I vote the CopperSilverGoldPlatinum scale, saying 100 copper = Silver, 100 S = Gold, 100G = Platinum. Gives us a four-level currency system, and if we assume the average peasant in their life will earn maybe 50 silver for cheap labor, it gives us a real standard of value and a reason for the nobility to actually be nobility.

I like the second one Rynn said. (I would make a gold worth 100.

making a gold worth 100 would make all the prices listed by the people who run shops outrageous. By Making a gold worth 50, the prices are set at a far more reasonable price

So they can rework their prices. No matter what the values are settled on, the prices ultimately so far were based on each individual's idea of the money scheme, so someone will have to rework the costs.

Keep in mind that a well made weapon is -supposed- to be expensive, something that you work part of your lifetime to earn, hence even the most basic weapons becoming family heirlooms, historically. And I don't mean the fancy magical kinds, but just a plain good solid well-made short-sword or broad-sword. If we can figure out average prices for weapons and food, prices will balance out from that somewhat once we have the economy pounded out.

Designing an economic structure to fit arbitrarily chosen prices is sort of backwards, don't we think? It would be more logical to create the framework then adjust the prices to fit that. From there you take some commonly known items and base the prices relative to that. For example, take the price of a loaf of bread, or a chair or something and then determine other things proportionate to that. Overall, I think the main thing is to keep it simple. Why overcomplicate it?

So how about a simple base 10 system?

10 copper = 1 silver
10 silver = 1 gold
10 gold = 1 platinum

That makes the math easy. Don't some of you live in places that use that metric system thing I heard of?

That's exactly what I was saying, Jax. We need to set a system and let prices derive from that, not set prices and derive the system from that.

Right now, I refuse to even define how much money my characters use in any given transaction because it's such an X-factor from person to person.