Today we’re going to talk more about money. Last column I discussed some of the quirks of coinage as a unit of weight backed by the commodity metal it’s minted from. This time, I’ll talk about other kinds of money.
Representative money is a unit with no intrinsic value - such as a zinc disc, or a slip of durable paper - that can be exchanged for a precious commodity, such as gold or silver. Why switch to representative money, however, if the previous coins minted from commodities worked perfectly fine before?
Remember my previous column, where I mentioned how precious metal coinage could be defaced by shaving and milling. Having the coinage itself be base metal, exchangeable for commodity, would help ensure and protect its worth. Moreover, if the coin itself is just a token exchangeable for gold or silver, why not use lighter media such as paper or cloth as units of exchange for units that would be unwieldy to carry around?
Five thousand gold pieces weighs about a hundred pounds, if you go by D&D 5E’s estimations - kind of unwieldy for most purposes. A letter of credit from a certified bank, backed by its reserves of gold, however, makes for a more convenient token of exchange than the coinage itself. This lends itself well to settings with established, entrenched mercantile banking systems, especially if the PCs are going to be dealing in units of cargo.
Representative paper money is vulnerable to forgery, however, which means, of course, that counter-forgery measures will enter use. For example, modern paper currency utilizes watermarks, specially made paper or polymer, and holographic strips of metal embedded in the note’s surface. A setting with widespread magic might have slightly more exotic ways of demonstrating its authenticity. A rather more white-collar thieves’ guild might be locked in an arms race of exploits and countermeasures, with squads of roguish alchemists performing experiments to reverse-engineer an alchemical ink used only on authentic banknotes, while a bank’s own experts examine forgeries in order to refine their techniques.
Magic could also be an interesting way of protecting paper money from forgery. A letter of credit signed to a specific bearer could be reinforced with a silent image displaying the features of its owner. Such a note would require disguises to successfully use if filched, and imagine trying to pick pockets if a banknote screams that it’s been stolen once it’s been taken? The note’s rightful owner would of course have received a token from the bank that silenced the magic as long as both were in their possession.
This can lead to an entertaining world building wrinkle. Imagine if you will, a guild of commercial wizards who specialize more in banking, logistics and long-range communications setting up their own bank. Their arcane measures would make their banknotes the most reliable ones in a region, and their access to non-couriered forms of messaging means that they could establish branches in faraway ports without too much difficulty. Now consider dragons. They are sapient, long-lived, and love piles of treasure. An enterprising dragon could form its own banking system run by kobolds day-to-day, a monstrous counterpart to the wizard-backed bank.
Both the examples above - the wizard’s guild or the dragon - would make for an excellent patron for a group of PCs, especially if they own their own trading vessel, or journey for rare commodities such as spices and gems. Those would also make for entertaining dungeon plans, given the necessity for vaults and guards, and provide an exciting backdrop for a heist adventure.
This article was contributed by M.W. Simmes as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Representative money is a unit with no intrinsic value - such as a zinc disc, or a slip of durable paper - that can be exchanged for a precious commodity, such as gold or silver. Why switch to representative money, however, if the previous coins minted from commodities worked perfectly fine before?
Remember my previous column, where I mentioned how precious metal coinage could be defaced by shaving and milling. Having the coinage itself be base metal, exchangeable for commodity, would help ensure and protect its worth. Moreover, if the coin itself is just a token exchangeable for gold or silver, why not use lighter media such as paper or cloth as units of exchange for units that would be unwieldy to carry around?
Five thousand gold pieces weighs about a hundred pounds, if you go by D&D 5E’s estimations - kind of unwieldy for most purposes. A letter of credit from a certified bank, backed by its reserves of gold, however, makes for a more convenient token of exchange than the coinage itself. This lends itself well to settings with established, entrenched mercantile banking systems, especially if the PCs are going to be dealing in units of cargo.
Representative paper money is vulnerable to forgery, however, which means, of course, that counter-forgery measures will enter use. For example, modern paper currency utilizes watermarks, specially made paper or polymer, and holographic strips of metal embedded in the note’s surface. A setting with widespread magic might have slightly more exotic ways of demonstrating its authenticity. A rather more white-collar thieves’ guild might be locked in an arms race of exploits and countermeasures, with squads of roguish alchemists performing experiments to reverse-engineer an alchemical ink used only on authentic banknotes, while a bank’s own experts examine forgeries in order to refine their techniques.
Magic could also be an interesting way of protecting paper money from forgery. A letter of credit signed to a specific bearer could be reinforced with a silent image displaying the features of its owner. Such a note would require disguises to successfully use if filched, and imagine trying to pick pockets if a banknote screams that it’s been stolen once it’s been taken? The note’s rightful owner would of course have received a token from the bank that silenced the magic as long as both were in their possession.
This can lead to an entertaining world building wrinkle. Imagine if you will, a guild of commercial wizards who specialize more in banking, logistics and long-range communications setting up their own bank. Their arcane measures would make their banknotes the most reliable ones in a region, and their access to non-couriered forms of messaging means that they could establish branches in faraway ports without too much difficulty. Now consider dragons. They are sapient, long-lived, and love piles of treasure. An enterprising dragon could form its own banking system run by kobolds day-to-day, a monstrous counterpart to the wizard-backed bank.
Both the examples above - the wizard’s guild or the dragon - would make for an excellent patron for a group of PCs, especially if they own their own trading vessel, or journey for rare commodities such as spices and gems. Those would also make for entertaining dungeon plans, given the necessity for vaults and guards, and provide an exciting backdrop for a heist adventure.
This article was contributed by M.W. Simmes as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
