An Epic

Currencies of Farland

Before the founding of the civilization of Aelfar, there was no standard currency. Each kingdom that rose and fell with the ages minted its own coin, of its own size and value, and whether any of these ancient kingdoms honored the currency of any other was a hit or miss proposition. Aelfar, however, revolutionized currency when it standardized the value of coins, and it refused to deal with any kingdom that did not use coins of similar size, shape, and value. The kingdom and later Empire of Farland adopted this policy, collecting, melting down, and reminting any non-standard coins. Over hundreds of years, this policy led to a standardization of coinage across almost the entire continent. Seeing the economic value in doing so, even the Elves, the Dwarves, and the Enemy in the East adopted these standard coins.

Thus almost all coins in the land are either platinum pieces, gold pieces, silver pieces, copper pieces, or tin pennies (a mix of copper and tin). The standard currency of everyday use is the silver piece.

Metagame comment: This means that DMs and players should convert the standard pricing of items, goods, and services to the silver standard. When the price in one of the official manuals is given in gold, in Farland it should be read as silver. Similarly, silver should be read as copper, and copper should be read as tin pennies. Thus, if a longsword is listed as costing 15 gold pieces in the player's handbook, in Farland, its cost will be 15 silver pieces.

Individual kingdoms have managed to assert their individual character on the names they give their coins.

©2008   S. Baker