Hack Coins
The general currency of Útgarðar is Hack Coins. They are a series of standard sizes for coins that are used for trading. The coins are made by either minting them, this is usually done on the Jarldom level, or by cutting coins and other objects into the correct size.
Most hack coins are not coins but are peaces of silver that have the same, or close to same, mass of metal that is in the coins. This is done by weighing a peace of metal against a weight and cutting it if its too big. If its too small its either melted down to make fresh coins or cut into a half peace. IE a half silver coin made from part of a silver dagger.
This method means that currency conversions are not needed between different kingdoms. This excludes Araqar as the elven merchants there prefer full coins or bartering. This has served to frustrate merchants from the other nations to no end.
Hammerdeep does make its own coins in its mint but abides by the loose size standard for trade. They do however uses electrum coins much more than other kingdoms to the point that it is their primary currency. Hammerdeep coins are considered the best due to their easy to transport hollow hexagon design, the much tighter variation between them, and the fact that they are much more durable than other coins due to better dwarven forging processes.
More rarer coins in the land are Platinum and Electrum. Platinum coins usually come from Araqar where they are used for large transactions. They are met with suspicion by most other merchants who have not dealt with elves. Even then most people don't trust them anyway.
Electrum coins are not met with as much suspicion, assuming that the merchant or shop keep has heard of the dwarves before. The one problem with them is the disputed value of them amongst merchants. A agreement was made that gives them the weird value of 1:5 silver and 3:1 gold. This awkward value has led to them not being used when not trading with dwarves.
All this lead to a stable, but strange, system of currency through Útgarðar.
Most hack coins are not coins but are peaces of silver that have the same, or close to same, mass of metal that is in the coins. This is done by weighing a peace of metal against a weight and cutting it if its too big. If its too small its either melted down to make fresh coins or cut into a half peace. IE a half silver coin made from part of a silver dagger.
This method means that currency conversions are not needed between different kingdoms. This excludes Araqar as the elven merchants there prefer full coins or bartering. This has served to frustrate merchants from the other nations to no end.
Hammerdeep does make its own coins in its mint but abides by the loose size standard for trade. They do however uses electrum coins much more than other kingdoms to the point that it is their primary currency. Hammerdeep coins are considered the best due to their easy to transport hollow hexagon design, the much tighter variation between them, and the fact that they are much more durable than other coins due to better dwarven forging processes.
More rarer coins in the land are Platinum and Electrum. Platinum coins usually come from Araqar where they are used for large transactions. They are met with suspicion by most other merchants who have not dealt with elves. Even then most people don't trust them anyway.
Electrum coins are not met with as much suspicion, assuming that the merchant or shop keep has heard of the dwarves before. The one problem with them is the disputed value of them amongst merchants. A agreement was made that gives them the weird value of 1:5 silver and 3:1 gold. This awkward value has led to them not being used when not trading with dwarves.
All this lead to a stable, but strange, system of currency through Útgarðar.
Specific coins
The nations of Útgarðar have some specific coins used in particular circumstance. Here they are listed.
In Viddleland that Wolf Coin is used. It is made from a gold coin with a silver wolf head framed from the side on it. This coin is used to pay for large amounts of ships supplies like food, water, medical gear, and may other things. Vikingers are the main users of this coin. In fact it was modeled after the wooden wolf head at the front of their ships.
In Araqar they apparently have a fascination with strange coins. Most notably is Sehanine's Arrow a small platinum coin in the shape of an arrow head placed in the hands of a dead elf before burial or cremation to pay tribute to Sehanine Moonbow the god of death.
The second weird coin is the Sapphire Tear, a small silver coin in the shape of a tear with sapphire placed in the center. This coin is given to well liked people who have suffered great financial loss by their friends and family as a way to bounce them back. It is worth ten platinum.
The last strange coin is the Black Coin a coin made of obsidian with a silver skull placed in the center. It is used by the Celeb Caraxo a secret order of elven assassins. They leave it on the corpse to claim credit for a kill.
Hammerdeep has the Hammer and the Helmet. The hammer is a hexagonal coin made of gold with an electrum hammer on the face. It is worth 100gp and is used by the state to purchase weapons and armor for its military. They are occasionally sold to foreign merchants looking to purchase vast amounts of arms and armor from the forges. The Helmet is a hexagonal gold coin with a stylized depiction of a dwarven soldiers face on the front. It is used to pay soldiers and is worth the same as a platinum piece but is unlikely to be worth much outside of Hammerdeep.
Trivia
- Counterfeiting coins is pretty hard as most merchants will be suspicious of full regular coins.
- Some historians and skalds keep coins from different eras in labeled bags to keep track of lines of succession.
- This was the actual system used in Viking and Medieval Scandinavia.
In response to the prompt Describe a common form of currency in your world. Who issues it and what is its value?
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