Quote from: The_Shadow;467447Coins are pieces of metal with designs stamped into them by the ruling authorities. So a gold piece is not just a gold piece, something found in the underworld might be a 1000 year old coin of Bungleland with a motto in Old Wiskish to a now-forbidden god. And even if the local merchant might overlook that because its still shiny, it's probably of an odd weight and unknown purity.

I'm no expert, but I think you're oversimplifying to the point of being incorrect.

What you describe is the situation today: you can't pay with a US Dollar in the UK. But that's because modern money is fiat money. A 1 Dollar bill is worth one dollar not because the raw materials used in its creation (the paper and paint) are worth one dollar (they're not), but because the US government has a law which says "this piece of paper is worth one dollar's worth of goods". And, of course, other governments have no obligation to oblige.

Antiquity/medieval coinage, on the other hand, had intrinsic value. A gold coin weighting X grains was worth X grains of gold (assuming equal purity). If you had a one pound heavy bag full of silver coins, you could buy exactly one pound of silver bullion (discounting the bag's own weight).

This essay, which was just what cropped up first in Google, says that while there were local coinages that didn't see much travel, this was by no means the universal case. Money at large did travel around quite a lot, and professional moneychangers (or, I guess, even merchants dealing across the borders) had no problem keeping track of relative coin values. Eventually, nearby countries would eventually sign treaties to agree on monetary standards - same weight and purity, even though the designs would still be individual to the countries.

So, to sum it up, you're wrong.

Quote from: Opaopajr;467501Well, in running Birthright, money is a huge issue for my PCs. Since the province governor PC has access to the treasury, as well as receives 2000 gold pieces minimum per annum for management, you'd think he's in the clear, living it up. However, think about it -- it's a huge headache!

When you're dealing with maintenance costs for realms, it really can be a headache....especially if not everything is paid for in "hard" currency, like coins.

Quote from: OpaopajrResponsibility for one province out of a larger realm -- which trades with other neighboring realms and far distant lands -- wealth suddenly becomes more than just coinage. In kind contributions, gift systems, calculation of scuttage from fiefdoms, letters of credit, etc. it all shows up. It's all one big (FUN!) mess of appraising, negotiating, warehousing, and managing. My PC governor is up to his eyeballs in backlog (all the more reason to delegate to hirelings and find lieutenants!).

And storing things in one localized "convenient coin pile" becomes downright silly when you have two towns and a fistful of villages to manage. In fact, in many ways it's safer when left unconverted. For example, grain bushels, corvee labor, and cinnamon logs are far harder for pirates and thieves to steal and fence than coinage. Sure you can fortify a mint and treasury, and staff it with soldiers galore -- or you can just build silos and exchange notes/messengers.

So I say be creative! Throw in objets d'art, sumptuous textiles, cacao beans, and cowrie shells. Let promissory notes, illuminated indulgences, or jeweled emblems of political favor show up. The wonderful part of unusual bits of "currency" is that They Become Plot Hooks. As a GM nothing is nicer than latent plot hooks for your PCs to sink their teeth into.

Edit: I do keep the conceit of a single base conversion for some simplicity's sake. Copper/Silver/Electrum/Gold/Platinum becomes Dime/Dollar/Fiver/Ten/Fifty (or whatever floats your boat) as a basic yardstick of measure. And any conversions are expressed OOC this way. Naturally IC you might have to negotiate for better exchange rates, but to keep the headache to a minimum OOC I try to keep it consistent. I'm not *that* mean of a GM.

If I'm remembering correctly, PCs in Birthright had to deal with assets, holdings, and domains...which had maintenance costs. The maintenance costs were measured in gold bars. A gold bar was about the equivalent of 2,000 gp.

I do still want to make the conversion rate for coins recognizable and manageable for "normal" D&D players, but I've also been thinking of reintroducing paper currency as well. I used to have it my campaign....a long time ago. The paper currency would only be accepted in the more "civilized" areas, of course...but copper, silver, and gold is good almost everywhere.

I was even thinking of introducing these piddly "Fool's Gold" coins introduced by Leprechauns. As a practical joke of nearly cosmic proportions, they managed to get them accepted as legal tender on multiple kingdoms after transforming most of the Dwarven Treasury into Fool's Gold. Needless to say, the Dwarves don't like the Leprechauns very much...

Yes, Birthright uses Gold Bars which are 2,000 gold pieces. And only palaces and fortifications (which can be on province castles or holdings) really had a GB maintenance cost. Holdings generally produced GB in taxation, trade and specials. The PC just received a GB/yr as a yearly wage free and clear -- and managing just that required forethought. A smelted gold bar plopped in his rucksack was impractical. "Here, have a gold bar! So, where ya gonna put it? Under your pillow?" Chests filled with coins are not much better. Keeping it as accounting credit among the admittedly nascent bureaucracy has been vy far the best solution.

Remember too, jewelry -- just like hacksilver -- is still used as currency in the world. Gold bangle bracelets are still used among bedouins as money. A few desert commissaries just have a test stone and a troy scale and customer/wife runs the transaction rapidly selecting a close weight in bangles. Also coinage has been woven into belts, even armor suits, so loose change is not the only way to represent precious metal currency.

And then there's parts of the world that gold/silver/copper were so sacred and ceremonial that they didn't function as part of the formal economy. So, sometimes precious metal coinage becomes either not as useful, or a liability if held by non-vested people. Those sort of roadblocks, which can piss off PCs if sandbagged upon them without warning, can be good world flavor if introduced judiciously. There's always border cultures and cities between such transitional economic boundaries. Would make for a great story where the PCs do a caravanserai of high valued caged chickens. During raids PCs would holler about "saving the chickens!" That line alone would warm my evil GM heart...

To me one of the big things is not to overcomplicate matters, even in a historical game, but much less a fantasy RPG.  Even so, making a point of not just having generic "GP", but rather calling them by some name (shillings, ducats, whatever) can make a big difference; if you want, you can have different nations require money-changing for different currencies, though this can quickly turn into a diminishing return as the book-keeping players have to do takes away from the value of the emulative effect.

RPGPundit

What Premier said.

Also a contract isn't even required, if one country is a major player and the other one not so much. In this situation it just makes sense to adjust your standards to their level.

That's what happened under Roman hegemony for example.