Is there any discussion in the novels of currency in the Eleven Kingdoms? What are the coins used in Gwynedd and Torenth? I can't recall if the books use pounds as the chief currency, or marks...or whether coins are more likely to be silver or gold.
Quote from: DoctorM on August 06, 2020, 10:07:18 PM
Is there any discussion in the novels of currency in the Eleven Kingdoms? What are the coins used in Gwynedd and Torenth? I can't recall if the books use pounds as the chief currency, or marks...or whether coins are more likely to be silver or gold.
IIRC they use coins but I don't recall that thye used a name for them. I think they were gold and or silver. No mention of paper money that I remember.
Just generic gold, silver, and copper are the only things I remember seeing. No pounds, marks, or other real-world names for currency. Only the generic fantasy coins.
I had recently read somewhere (and it might be from fan-fic, I can not recall) the use of the term Royals for coins. I rather liked that term. I wish I could remember if it was KK's or not.
About currency in our own medieval world specifically England, there is a book named "The Year 1000" that is an interesting chapter about wealth. It states that coins are thin and smooth... hammered high grade silver... duller and lighter than modern machine-made coins. The coins would have the face of the current king, no date, but they would have the code of the money house who minted the coin. The amount of silver in each coin had to be exact at the time of its minting. But as the coins circulated though society, coins could be cut in half, "a half penny" or bits of silver trimmed off the edges. Thus every two - three years all the coins would be recalled and a new issue of coins would be handed out. This is where the kingdom made a sizable tax; for every 10 coins collected, the moneyer gave back only 8 or 9 coins of the new currency. The old currency was no longer valid and the new currency was guaranteed to have the exact amount of silver in each coin. The image of the king was changed with each new minting.
This is why there are so few ancient coins in existence today. Every few years they were all melted down and remade into new currency.
Very good information! Thanks, Laurna!
Quote from: Laurna on August 07, 2020, 12:21:44 PM
I had recently read somewhere (and it might be from fan-fic, I can not recall) the use of the term Royals for coins. I rather liked that term. I wish I could remember if it was KK's or not.
About currency in our own medieval world specifically England, there is a book named "The Year 1000" that is an interesting chapter about wealth. It states that coins are thin and smooth... hammered high grade silver... duller and lighter than modern machine-made coins. The coins would have the face of the current king, no date, but they would have the code of the money house who minted the coin. The amount of silver in each coin had to be exact at the time of its minting. But as the coins circulated though society, coins could be cut in half, "a half penny" or bits of silver trimmed off the edges. Thus every two - three years all the coins would be recalled and a new issue of coins would be handed out. This is where the kingdom made a sizable tax; for every 10 coins collected, the moneyer gave back only 8 or 9 coins of the new currency. The old currency was no longer valid and the new currency was guaranteed to have the exact amount of silver in each coin. The image of the king was changed with each new minting.
This is why there are so few ancient coins in existence today. Every few years they were all melted down and remade into new currency.
I loooked online for the book and found three with the same title. Do you know the authors of the one you are using? Would like to get a copy. Thanks DFK
The Year 1000 What Life was like at the turn of the first Millennium An Englisman's world By Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger C 1999
There is a section on Gwyneddan currency in The Deryni Adventure Game book by Gray Ghost Press.
Copper Coin:
Farthing Value 1/4 of a silver penny
Silver Coins:
Penny: Worth 4 farthings
Vice-Royal: Worth 4 Pennies, or 16 farthings
Royal: Worth 2 Vice Royals/8 Pennies/ 32 Farthings
Gold Coins:
Mark Worth 4 Royals
Half-Sovereign: Worth 2 Marks/8 Royals
Sovereign: Worth 4 Marks/16 Royals Etc
We did not create any Torenthi Currency, or Forcinn Currency.
Melissa
Shiral, That is really cool.
Thank you for bringing that to our attention. I knew I had read about Royals somewhere.