D&D General Tell me about the "coinage" in your homebrews!

[Knightfall]

Okay, so I have a hard time coming up with unique types of coins for my campaign world without having to resort to stealing from history. After a while, i run out of good ideas for new names.

So I figured I'd ask for suggestions. Tell me about the types of coins and currency in your homebrewed campaigns. What types of metals besides the standard do you use for coins? Do you use the idea of paper money or metal ingots?

What about metals like brass, bronze, iron, lead, tin, and zinc? What about types of cut-stones (non-gems) used as coins? What types of stone would be the most valuable?

I'm looking for some inspiration, so go crazy people!

 

[Knightfall]

Here's something I didn't know...

"An interesting case of a precious metal that is now common is that of aluminium. Although aluminium is one of the most commonly occurring elements on Earth, it was initially found to be exceedingly difficult to extract from its various ores. This made the little available pure aluminium which had been discovered (or refined at great expense) more valuable than gold. Bars of aluminium were exhibited alongside the French crown jewels at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, and Napoleon III was said to have reserved a set of aluminium dinner plates for his most honored guests. Additionally, the pyramidal top to the Washington Monument is made of pure aluminium. At the time of the monument's construction, aluminium was more expensive than silver, gold, or platinum. Over time, however, the price of the metal has dropped; the invention of the Hall-Héroult process in 1886 caused the high price of aluminium to permanently collapse."

— Precious metal, Wikipedia​

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I've got as far as the "bezant" for the Parsantium campaign's gold piece and I stole this one from history. Sorry!


Richard

 

[Gilladian]

Here's a link to my wiki where I discuss coinage in my campaign:
http://vishteercampaign.pbwiki.com/MiraborianCoinage

(Note: I run on a silver standard)

Hope it helps...

 

[Knightfall]

Here's a link to my wiki where I discuss coinage in my campaign:
http://vishteercampaign.pbwiki.com/MiraborianCoinage

(Note: I run on a silver standard)

Hope it helps...

Interesting stuff. It looks like you've used a lot of historical/real world names for your coins. I don't know why, but I've never been comfortable using such names.

Anyway, thanks for the link.

 

[Gilladian]

When I chose the names I use, I debated a LOT whether to use historical names or create my own. I finally decided that familiarity won the race.

One method I have used to name things like coins is to pick a theme (for example, birds) that is important to the culture, and then draw my names from there.

Copper could thus be doves, silver could be hawks, gold eagles, and platinum rocs. It gives a feeling of uniformity, and if you pick carefully, you can tie the name system to the culture. It's also an easy way to make the names memorable.

 

[jdrakeh]

A while ago, I created a setting composed of several different realsm, each of whcih had their own coinage and economic systems (because I like verisimilitude). Here are some examples:

"The most common unit of currency in New Midran is that of the silver jontiff, a small silver bead with a hole drilled though its center. Many citizens of New Midran fashion necklaces or bracelets out of their jontiff, as it makes transporting the currency in foreign realms both convenient and safe (simple metal jewelry is not often targeted for theft by foreign muggers)."

"Although Presh has no ‘official’ currencies, those most widely utilized in the archipelago are the silver Cross (a large silver coin so named because its surface is scored with the shape of a cross to facilitate easy quartering) and the copper Fram (a small, unremarkable, copper slug often exchanged by the handful)."

"The official currency of Stahlfel is the voucher, a printed paper note that is redeemable within the city’s walls for goods and services. By law, only members of House Warden may deal in currencies other than the voucher - all foreign currency that an individual possesses must be converted into vouchers for the duration their stay in Stahlfel."

I stole a lot of ideas from Jack Vance, as I was reading lots of his sci-fantasy at the time. Hence the name of New Midran's currency.

 

[Robbs]

Here is the posting I did for my current campaign.

Coinage in the Fallen Empire

As trade dominates these decisions, coinage in the areas of the Fallen Empire (regardless of origin) is typically referred to by a common name. These names were transplanted from Antcash, with the exception of the wheel. The wheel is a continuation of an Eastern coin of the same name. Done originally as a sign of deference to local customs, it has since been incorporated into the general coinage. The original coinage introduced by the Empire had no platinum; therefore the highest standard coin would be the wheel, larger and thicker than standard Imperial coins. Once established (and as economic growth demanded it) the coinage added the platinum coin, which reestablished the Imperial coin as the highest. Trade bars are separate from this in that they are almost exclusively the province of large transactions involving trading houses and merchant guilds. The electrum piece was also introduced by the Empire, but is generally seen as a failure. While its value is technically fixed, many traders (especially smaller or more provincial traders) do not accept it as legitimate coin of exchange. Its original name was a merc. This was done to acknowledge the contribution of mercenary companies in the service to the Empire. Its more common, and mocking, name is the knave or fool. Overall, coinage is generally referred to by these terms:

gold bar=centurion=100 gold
platinum=imperial=10 gold
oversized gold piece=a wheel=5 gold
gold=crown
electrum=knave/fool=1/2 gold
silver=knight=1/10 gold
copper=slug=1/100 gold


As the Imperial presence declines names will slowly shift. Already in some areas gold or platinum have been referred to as sovereigns (debates on whether the gold piece, which is used more frequently, or the platinum piece, which is the highest coin, should have this designation has obviously caused some confusion). In the North the coinage has been simplified greatly. Platinum, wheels and electrum are virtually unknown, thus it has been simplified. Coinage is called the Sun, the Moon and the Stars to represent gold, silver and copper respectively.

 

[Knightfall]

"Although Presh has no ‘official’ currencies, those most widely utilized in the archipelago are the silver Cross (a large silver coin so named because its surface is scored with the shape of a cross to facilitate easy quartering) and the copper Fram (a small, unremarkable, copper slug often exchanged by the handful)."

I like the silver Cross idea. I might steal that one.

 

[jdrakeh]

I like the silver Cross idea. I might steal that one.

Feel free. I stole it from history!

Spanish dollars had a nominal value of eight reales ("royals"). The coins were often physically cut into eight "bits", or sometimes four quarters, to make smaller change. This is the origin of the colloquial name "pieces of eight" for the coin, and of "quarter" and "two bits" for twenty-five cents in the United States.

When I was a kid, I was a member of the local numismatic society where an elderly gentleman exhibited a scored Spanish dollar that had been divided into four quarters but not yet physically separated. When wracking my brains for coinage ideas some 20 years later, that meeting of the numismatic society came back to me.