Coinage in Thardferr.
A means of trade, and the ability to buy and
sell, is the life-blood of a kingdom. Whether it is precious metals,
barter, sea shells, or wood, something of value must be used for trade.
In Thardferr's colorful history, its many realms' money is part of this
life's blood. During the years of the Alliance, it was agreed that
all kingdoms would honor a single currency. It is not that they had
not previously honored that of other kingdoms, but they always favored
local moneys over those from other realms. But a gold, a silver
and a copper coin was given a universal worth, and used as a means of trade
throughout the Alliance. When the Confederacy came into being, it
chose to keep the same universal system rather than creating a new one,
and the gnomes cheered. However, the separate kingdoms did not stop
minting their own local moneys, though production of them has lessened
considerably.
The main monetary system was based on precious
metals, as this was the most universally recognized material of value.
The most commonly used was gold and copper, and thus these were the first
minted. The dwarves, more accepting of silver as a base of wealth,
often refused to use the coins made of other metals. After nearly
three years of debate, a coin was added to the system, the Villier, the
base coin of dwarven currency.
On a whim, one of the emperors of the time
thought it might increase his appearance to the nobles of the realms if
he added a new coin. In less than a year, he had the first Endors
minted as a high end means of transporting and counting wealth. Though
the Endor was never accepted much by the common people or in everyday use,
it became the standard of wealth amongst the affluent. Not to be
outdone, his son; on assuming the imperial crown, chose to do the same,
however, the copper coin he added to the system was aimed towards the usage
of the common man, and became the most widely minted and used coin in the
Realms amongst most common folks.
The official coinage minted and used throughout the Confederation are
detailed below:
1 Endor = 5 Crowns* = 10 Villiers = 50 Linert* =
100 Coppers = 500 Pennies*
The size and make of the coins are:
| Coin Name |
Coin Metal |
Coin Weight (American coin size) |
| Endor |
gold |
12 pieces to the pound (silver dollar) |
| Crown* |
gold |
50 pieces to the pound (penny) |
| Villier |
silver |
24 pieces to the pound (quarter) |
| Linert |
silver |
50 pieces to the pound (penny) |
| Copper |
copper |
24 pieces to the pound (quarter) |
| Penny* |
copper |
50 pieces to the pound (penny) |
* These three coins represent the standard GP, SP and CP
from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd. Edition Player's Handbook.
(50 pieces to the pound is roughly the size of an American penny, 24 pieces
is roughly the size of an American quarter, and 12 pieces is roughly the
size of an American dollar.)
All coins are round, with a slightly raised lip around
their edge. The coins bear the mark of the mint, date of minting, and by
what king they were minted, around their edge on one face. The opposite
face of the coins contain a stylized emblem of the Confederation, a crown
within five interlocking rings and around the edge the motto, "In Unity
is Freedom". Only as many are released into circulation as there
is a treasury, to represent their worth within the realm of their minting.
Most coins are minted by the confederacy at the Royal Mint of Coopersville
Forge. A high standard of quality is maintained in the coins, but
some alloying is used to make them more durable.
The Crown, Linert and Penny are standardized
in weight, and so slightly vary in size. The gold Crown is slightly
smaller than the silver Linert, which is again slightly smaller than the
copper Penny, which is a half inch in diameter and 1/16 of an inch thick.
Each will stack one on the other respectively, leaving only their edge
lip showing. The coins are carefully measured and minted this way. The
Crown has only a crown on its face opposite the Confederation emblem.
This was done to unify the coins use rather than have any preferential
treatment based on a person or symbol of any specific Realm.
The Villiers and Coppers are half again as
large as a Crown and twice as thick with a hole in their center.
On these two coins, the crest or the face of the king that minted them
is on the right side of the hole facing left. The mark of the mint
and the motto, "In Unity is Freedom", is on the left side of the hole.
The opposite face has the stylized five interlocking rings of the Confederation
circling the hole.
The Endor is roughly twice as thick and twice
as large as a Crown. On the Endor, it is traditional to have the face of
the emperor in profile looking right opposite the Confederation emblem.
The mint and date of minting is under his face.
Coins are taken out of circulation at times,
for re-minting. This is usually done by means of those collected
as taxes. New coins are minted in recognition of a new king or some
other special occasion, and gifted into circulation to nobility, as grants,
payments for service or goods to the realm, or as refunds of taxes to gain
favor. Pennies and Coppers could even be thrown to the crowds at
a Coronation or like affair.
This system is enforced by treaty and has,
for the most part, been adopted by all realms. However, the realms
other than Edilar still produce coins of their own, out of national pride
or for internal use only.
Tuth: Even in the realm that holds the capital of
the Confederation, there is a separate currency. All coins are round
with a raised lip and ridged edge, and of relatively well-maintained purity.
The face of the current king in left profile is on one side and is dated
beneath. While the face changes over time, unless stated otherwise
all coins have the same value. The opposite face has the national
symbol, a howling wolf, in profile facing left. All are asked to
bring old coins to the local authority and have them replaced with those
that bear the face of the current king. Most are just re-minted after
being taken in taxes. These coins are taken and remounted to bear
the current king's profile. Tuth and Lithar coins are accepted interchangeably
within each realm.
These are the coins of Tuth:
1 Endor = 5 Crowns* = 10 Villiers = 50 Linert* =
100 Coppers = 500 Pennies*
The size and make of the coins are:
| Coin Name |
Coin Metal |
Coin Value |
Coin Weight (American coin size) |
| Gold Wolf |
gold |
4 crowns |
16 pieces to the pound (half-dollar) |
| Gold Half-Wolf |
gold |
2 crowns |
32 pieces to the pound (nickel) |
| Gold Crown |
crown |
1 crown |
64 pieces to the pound (dime) |
| Silver Wolf |
silver |
5 linert |
16 pieces to the pound (half-dollar) |
| Silver Half-Wolf |
silver |
2 linert |
32 pieces to the pound (nickel) |
| Penny Wolf |
silver |
1 linert |
64 pieces to the pound (dime) |
| Copper Wolf |
copper |
1 copper |
64 pieces to the pound (dime) |
The Gold Crown bears a royal crown on the opposing face, rather than
a wolf.
The Copper Wolf is referred to in jest as a "fox" because of its color.
There is also one special coin minted only
at certain times:
| Coin Name |
Coin Metal |
Coin Value |
Coin Weight (American coin size) |
| King's Plate |
gilded silver |
No monetary value given,
usually appraised at 10 endor |
5 pieces to the pound (plate-sized) |
This coin is three times normal width and half again as thick as most
coins. It has the kings visage, face on and in right profile. The
wolf symbol of Tuth is on the opposite side. These are minted to
provide an image of the king, and distributed when he assumes the crown.
Five are sent to each noble family. They are more ornamental and
of rarity value, and are almost never used as actual coins.
Lithar: The brother kingdom to Tuth is now an economic
rival. In an effort to be different while maintain the symbol that
is hereditary of the Zaine family, they also have the wolf image on their
moneys, although in right profile. The image of the current king
in left profile graces the opposite side of every coin. Their coins
are slightly smaller in width and thicker than in Tuth, but are effectively
the same weight and value. As Tuth coins, anyone can always exchange
them in the local market and castle for those bearing the current image
of the king. Lithar and Tuth coins are accepted interchangeably within
each realm.
Alderd: Ages old is the adage, "What reason do I mint
a coin if only I have it." Because of this, the Gnomes do not hoard
their coinage and prefer to use that of others. They price their
products by the standard system but can handily make change using the coins
of whatever realm in which they are trading. Even so, Alderd has
a mint and does make some standardized coins. They are oval shaped and
have two ridge edged holes, one at either end. These holes are used
to tie strings through the coins so they are not easily stolen or lost.
The edge is also ridged. The king's image graces the face, dated
beneath. The coins of Alderd are always meticulously minted for consistency
of shape and purity of metal. They use alloying to make the coins
more durable. Only dwarven silver coins are closer to perfection.
On the opposite side of the king's visage
are various designs from which the coins take their names:
1 Candle = 5 Phoenix = 20 Doves = 120 Hawks
The size and make of the coins are:
| Coin Name |
Coin Metal |
Coin Image |
Coin Value |
Coin Weight (American coin size) |
| Candle |
platinum |
candle flame |
2 endor |
24 pieces to the pound (quarter) |
| Phoenix |
gold |
flaming bird |
2 crowns |
24 pieces to the pound (quarter) |
| Dove |
silver |
dove in flight |
5 coppers |
16 pieces to the pound (half-dollar) |
| Hawk |
copper |
diving hawk |
2 pennies |
16 pieces to the pound (half-dollar) |
Khardfee: Trade within Khardfee is traditionally done
by barter; an equal amount of goods for another equal amount of goods as
determined by the market. The various and current values of materials
are reasonably determined and set as decided by the number of hours to
produce, from harvesting of resources, to finished production time and
amount of shipping and handling necessary to bring the product to market.
It took quite a few years for the dwarves to understand that the value
of the coins of the Confederation were of a representative value rather
than by the weight and value of the material and production cost in their
manufacture. They have, however managed to incorporate and willingly
use the Confederation's system when dealing outside Khardfee. Within
their kingdom they maintain the trade by the true value, as they call it.
Within Dwarven society workmanship and labor is worth more than it is in
other realms. Humans often try to get as much as they can for as
little as possible, where the dwarven way is to do as much as you are able
and be compensated for it fairly. While trade is done mostly in bulk
material, there are times this is not possible. In these times one
needs coinage, and the dwarven basis of coinage is silver.
All dwarven coins are silver. They strive
for purity in all materials, for without it one cannot know the true value
of the coin. In no other realms are coins made of metals as pure
as those in Khardfee. All carry the likeness of seven stars over
a mountain peak on one side, and the image of the king on the reverse.
On the mountain side the weight of the coin and it's place of minting is
clearly marked. Under the visage of the king is the date minted.
No dwarf will accept a dwarven coin where he cannot see the date and measure.
Value is by weight. Items in Khardfee are priced as worth a certain
amount of silver. Coins are not representative but are the weight
of the price. For example, a shirt is valued at 1/16th an ounce
of silver, so coins weighing 1/16th an ounce of silver are needed to buy
it. The coins are not named, other than the coin known as the Villier.
The Villier is a perfect representation of the cost of silver. One Villier
is worth 1/2 ounce of silver. Dwarves divide the common pound into
12 parts. This complicates the exchange even more, but the standard value
of silver in Confederation coin is 5 Linert per ounce. This can be used
as a means of exchange for the Dwarven coins. Most are minted in
certain weights and called by those weights, i.e. a halve, a quarter, a
fifth, etc...
The most commonly minted weights are:
| Coin Name |
Coin Weight |
Coin Metal |
| Half-weight |
6 ounces |
silver |
| Quarter-weight |
3 ounces |
silver |
| One Ounce |
1 ounce |
silver |
| Villier |
1/2 ounce |
silver |
| Quarter |
1/4 ounce |
silver |
| Fifth |
1/5 ounce |
silver |
| Tenth |
1/10 ounce |
silver |
Others weights exist. Some clans prefer
to measure coins in thirds or sixths but these are not greatly minted and
never in wide circulation. Regardless of the weight it is always
clearly marked, dated and the mint given.
The other realms and races have no use for
or ability to make coinage. Some do not even care for coinage.
All trade is traditionally barter in Edilar, and nothing has so far managed
to change that. Goblins and Orcs have no minting ability, or at least
not on a scale to be used throughout even the tiniest part of their areas
of control. Instead they will trade raw materials. Still, all
these races willingly use confederation currency in their daily business
when needed within their cities, and especially outside their own Realm.
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