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Basic Economics

The minting of coins is a privilege granted to or bought by lords, church offices, or towns from the person of the King. No others may possess the right to do so. Although the style of coins that are minted may vary widely between those who have purchased the right to do so, they all must adhere to royal standards for weight and purity. These qualities are tested each year against the Royal Weights & Standards. Note that all coinage must bear the mark of the minter on the front of the coin (in the King's case it is his profile) and a standard image on the back of the coin. It is officially illegal to deface, shave, or split any denomination of coin except for the purposes of melting it down for re-use as coinage or jewelry (however, it has become accepted practice to halve both pennies and marks in some cases and is generally overlooked). Persons who mint coins without leave or circulate false coinage always face revocation of their right to mint, confiscation of the coinage, and a serious fine (most of which goes to the King's coffers). Usually there are additional punishments such as exile, maiming, or death that are carried out. The more serious punishments are generally reserved for those who offend more than once, are of a low status, or whose offense pertains to gold crowns or platinum scepters. Frequently nobles and church officials can escape anything worse than the fine.

The copper penny (abbrev. as "p.") is basic unit of the economy and it's back is always marked with an image of a single sheaf of wheat. It is the smallest coinage universally recognized and is widely used except in the most rural of settings. Note that although the penny is standard, the half-penny is also widely used because of the necessity of smaller amounts of coin (though some places still refuse to recognize it as payment of debts). The half-penny (abbrev. as "hp.") is actually minted in some places and in others is made by bending a copper penny until it breaks in half. Any town, noble, or church office may obtain the right to mint copper pennies.

The silver mark (abbrev. as "m.") is a common amount for slightly larger transactions and is used widely in towns and for trade. It is marked on the back with the image of a rampant lion. Also like copper pennies, some places use the half-mark as a form of coinage. This is less widely utilized than half-pennies and travelers may find that between one town and the next their half-marks become worthless. Only a very few places actually mint half-marks. Any town, noble, or church office may obtain the right to mint silver marks.

The gold crown (abbrev. as "c.") is a heavy coin that is marked on the back with an image of the royal crown. The gold crown is seldom used except for payment of large amounts that would be inconvenient to pay with silver marks. Nonetheless it still finds use in the hands of the wealthiest merchants, nobles, and high church officials. It is seldom seen in most towns but may be almost common in the wealthy market districts of some cities. Only certain of the nobility and special church offices may mint these and only by leave of the King.

The platinum scepter (abbrev. as "s.") is very rare coinage minted with the King's profile on one side and an image of his royal scepter on the other. It is minted only at the Kings direction by his personal minter for payment of his debts or for national reasons (paying armies, the church, tribute or ransom to another kingdom, or transportation of large amounts of wealth in a compact form). Possession of a platinum scepter by non-nobility or non-clergy (of suitable status) is cause for an inquiry and possible confiscation (or worse). Any that exists out of circulation would have to be converted to other forms of coinage before spending (no honest merchant would accept it as payment for fear of their life).

Frequently for transporting a lot of wealth in a small volume, jewelry is the preferred choice. But it risks changes in valuation when being converted back into hard coin.

Note that these prices will vary with the location and scarcity of goods or services. Although coinage is widely used in more cosmopolitan areas, many goods and services are still arranged on the basis of barter. While some goods remain cheap (apples, a mug of poor ale, a meat pie) some goods are very expensive (metal armor and arms, artwork, jewelry, fine cloth). And while unskilled labor can be cheap, although it changes with the season, skilled labor tends to be very costly at all times of the year (i.e. mason, jeweler, weaponsmith, etc).