jasper
Rotten DM
Moneyer and money
Now in the D&D world we have moneychangers. But how come no world has a moneyer? I have yet to see a profession list which does have a moneyer on it. Now we still have moneychangers today. Just go to some cities, which have international tourists. While I was station in West Berlin, you could change dollars to, east marks, west marks, pounds, francs, and rubles. So exchanging that new found old money in for current city state coin is old hat for your average party, if the DM even worries about it.
But what is a moneyer? What does he do? How can you fit the position in your game?
A moneyer is expert craftsman who job is to create new coins from old or new coins from bullion. Other names for moneyer are coiner, and minter. The job has two parts, making the die and stamping and or casting the coin.
The die making process is very simple just requiring some blacksmithing and engraving skill. The basic process with some variation is as follows. First two rods are forge about six inches long. Polish smooth and flat one end of rod. Using small punches and other tools engrave and punch the design obverse (heads) into smooth polish edge. Repeat for reverse (tails) rod. Heat treat and temper design ends of the rods. The result is the working dies. The dies do not have to always be two rods with the reverse stuck into a hole in a stump. Some die of reverse could be a square chuck of metal with spike tail which is place in the hardy hole of anvils or drove into a stump. The face of square would have the design in center.
Dies depending on the country and time were limited in where they could be manufactured. However money could be minted in various locals. For example to change the current process of today in the United States the plates would be created at the mint but the regional federal banks would print dollars at their location. So in my neck of the woods the plates would be created in D.C. and shipped to Atlanta Ga. When the Atlanta bank needed more dollars, they would print their own.
Coin making process is simple but long. Old coins or bullion is collected and the amount received is noted. The coins and bullion are melted. The molten metal is poured in sheet forms. The sheet is cut into strips. Then using a punch or large snips the planchet is cut. Think of the planchet as token or slug. The planchet is then stamped. Since the die was generally oversized, the coin is trimmed. Think of the oversize like a penny is bigger than a dime, so the dies would be penny sized and coin trimmed down to dime size. The coin is weighted. More trimming may take place. If the coin weight was too low back, the coin goes back in melting pot. However not each individual piece was not generally weighted but it could be. Also various laws and tradition require the final product to be assay, however except for the annual Trail of Pyx, the coins were rarely assayed. The process was the same irregardless of the metal (silver or gold) struck.
The new coins, minus the moneyer’s cut and king’s cut, are return to the customer. The average percentage for the moneyer in England was six coins per pound or about one percent. The king’s cut varied but about six pennies per pound weight was the average. The money from moneyer’s cut had to pay salaries and materials but generally was enough to be very profitable.
Now in the D&D world we have moneychangers. But how come no world has a moneyer? I have yet to see a profession list which does have a moneyer on it. Now we still have moneychangers today. Just go to some cities, which have international tourists. While I was station in West Berlin, you could change dollars to, east marks, west marks, pounds, francs, and rubles. So exchanging that new found old money in for current city state coin is old hat for your average party, if the DM even worries about it.
But what is a moneyer? What does he do? How can you fit the position in your game?
A moneyer is expert craftsman who job is to create new coins from old or new coins from bullion. Other names for moneyer are coiner, and minter. The job has two parts, making the die and stamping and or casting the coin.
The die making process is very simple just requiring some blacksmithing and engraving skill. The basic process with some variation is as follows. First two rods are forge about six inches long. Polish smooth and flat one end of rod. Using small punches and other tools engrave and punch the design obverse (heads) into smooth polish edge. Repeat for reverse (tails) rod. Heat treat and temper design ends of the rods. The result is the working dies. The dies do not have to always be two rods with the reverse stuck into a hole in a stump. Some die of reverse could be a square chuck of metal with spike tail which is place in the hardy hole of anvils or drove into a stump. The face of square would have the design in center.
Dies depending on the country and time were limited in where they could be manufactured. However money could be minted in various locals. For example to change the current process of today in the United States the plates would be created at the mint but the regional federal banks would print dollars at their location. So in my neck of the woods the plates would be created in D.C. and shipped to Atlanta Ga. When the Atlanta bank needed more dollars, they would print their own.
Coin making process is simple but long. Old coins or bullion is collected and the amount received is noted. The coins and bullion are melted. The molten metal is poured in sheet forms. The sheet is cut into strips. Then using a punch or large snips the planchet is cut. Think of the planchet as token or slug. The planchet is then stamped. Since the die was generally oversized, the coin is trimmed. Think of the oversize like a penny is bigger than a dime, so the dies would be penny sized and coin trimmed down to dime size. The coin is weighted. More trimming may take place. If the coin weight was too low back, the coin goes back in melting pot. However not each individual piece was not generally weighted but it could be. Also various laws and tradition require the final product to be assay, however except for the annual Trail of Pyx, the coins were rarely assayed. The process was the same irregardless of the metal (silver or gold) struck.
The new coins, minus the moneyer’s cut and king’s cut, are return to the customer. The average percentage for the moneyer in England was six coins per pound or about one percent. The king’s cut varied but about six pennies per pound weight was the average. The money from moneyer’s cut had to pay salaries and materials but generally was enough to be very profitable.
