Coinage in your Games?

[Stoat]

Long ago, I tried to use varied currencies for different realms, with different values and rates of exchange. Like a lot of other posters here, I gave it up. (1) I never had a player who found it interesting. (2) Usually by 2nd or 3rd Level, PC's have found enough loot that it doesn't make a difference.

So I gave each type of coin a flavorful name (platinum imperial, gold crown, silver noble, copper bit) and left it at that.

I occasionally use coins to give hints about a dungeon's origin or history -- "You find a cache of platinum imperials, they are ancient mint and bear the seal of lost Elven King Mrachnor." -- but I don't rely on this trick too often.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I like to add the flavor but realize it needs to be kept simple. Here's the "Coinage" entry from my wiki:

The Empire of Alabar has four denominations of currency, all about the same size and shape but made of different metals. Each is rectangular, about an inch by an inch and a half and less than a quarter inch thick, with a hole at one end so they can be held together with a leather tong.

The lowest denomination is the rooster, which is made of copper. This coin was at one time considered fair trade for an actual rooster, and is the only currency with any such physical equivalence. The other monetary units include the swan (silver), the crown (gold) and the scepter (platinum), each worth ten times more than the last. Each coin has a symbol stamped on it which is usually a literal representation of its name. On the back of roosters and swans there is usually a symbol related to where it was minted. Crowns typically have a profile of the kingdom's ruler from where the coin originated, and scepters will have an image of the current Emperor.

Crowns and scepters used to be considered currency of the nobility, but the crown has become so devalued over time that it is no longer unusual to find it being used in most town and village open-air markets. Egotistical kings often flood the economy with coins bearing their likeness, and traders compound the problem by typically discounting up to fifty percent any crowns which do not depict the current ruler or are from other kingdoms. These practices have also given rise to a thriving coin forgery market in some areas.

Trade in platinum scepters by someone of common birth will still provoke suspicion as to how the coins were acquired in most areas.

 

[Ktulu]

I'm sad. I don't even bother with coinage in my games. Beyond "gold" as a measurement of general wealth, I don't spend much time dealing with currency/economics.

It actually helps the realism, because I don't have players going into town with 4,000gp in their belt-pouch spending it all in one day.

On the flip-side, it does mean things like "hunger, lack of gear, ammunition" aren't really watched. We have a general understanding that one tracks that information only when they're in the deep wilderness, far from any town.

 

[Mark]

I'm sad. I don't even bother with coinage in my games. Beyond "gold" as a measurement of general wealth, I don't spend much time dealing with currency/economics.

It actually helps the realism, because I don't have players going into town with 4,000gp in their belt-pouch spending it all in one day.

On the flip-side, it does mean things like "hunger, lack of gear, ammunition" aren't really watched. We have a general understanding that one tracks that information only when they're in the deep wilderness, far from any town.

How else does minimizing the use of coinage play a part in your (or anyone's) game?