Gold or Silver Standard?

[frankthedm]

(and, what explanation could possibly be used to justify "no trade in magic items", that would stand up under the scrutiny of...well, anything?)

Trust.

You have to find someone willing to deal...

in a position of power where they can can't just be robbed...

but not so strong Players would be fools to trust them. "We, the country powerful and rich enough to be interested in magic items thanks you for your donation to our war effort"...

Then both sides have to trust each other or Prove the things are not cursed.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Other - the way Dragonlance does it: Steel piece standard.

 

[mach1.9pants]

(and, what explanation could possibly be used to justify "no trade in magic items", that would stand up under the scrutiny of...well, anything?)Lanefan

I can certainly see only very low levels items being traded, with a very very rare, 1 or 2 higher level trade. Just cos of the problems of moving money, although the Templars did it very wel!
But no trade, not realistic

 

[TwinBahamut]

Other - the way Dragonlance does it: Steel piece standard.

The problem with this is that it ignores the very good reasons why the coinage metals were used for that purpose and given that name.

Copper, silver, and gold are all easy to shape, particularly in terms of stamping them with the image of a king or a seal of some kind or just pouring them into coins or ingots. They resist corrosion fairly well (especially gold). It is very easy to tell if gold is pure or not, simply because so few things (if anything at all) known to the mideival world would be more dense than gold. They are not needed for more important things (iron is much more needed for tools, weapons, and building materials). There are a lot of physical properties and economic reasons that support the use of gold, silver, and copper for coins...

A medieval society probably couldn't even make a good coin out of steel, let alone a large enough number to be traded as currency.

 

[The Human Target]

The problem with this is that it ignores the very good reasons why the coinage metals were used for that purpose and given that name.

Copper, silver, and gold are all easy to shape, particularly in terms of stamping them with the image of a king or a seal of some kind or just pouring them into coins or ingots. They resist corrosion fairly well (especially gold). It is very easy to tell if gold is pure or not, simply because so few things (if anything at all) known to the mideival world would be more dense than gold. They are not needed for more important things (iron is much more needed for tools, weapons, and building materials). There are a lot of physical properties and economic reasons that support the use of gold, silver, and copper for coins...

A medieval society probably couldn't even make a good coin out of steel, let alone a large enough number to be traded as currency.

I agree with all that. But Dragonlance is/was a Points of Light setting. And the people in it commonly used steel coins because steel was much more important in their difficult gritty lives than gold. They melted the coins down into armor, and weapons, and tools. Thats why it fits.

As to the how, sure it may have been hard in Medieval times. But in DnD we have people that can do magic to alter the physical world and have craftsmen that can create amazing fantastical creations. Its not too hard to think of them being able to mint neat steel coins.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Silver standard by preference for me.

Gold then becomes something that is used between Lords and Nations in settling big debts, but isn't usable in everyday commerce (any more than you could go into a supermarket today and offer a lump of gold for your weekly shop).

Then big ticket items like magic items are always handled by the "barter equivalent value" process. A "cost" for magic items can then be used for their equivalent worth, rather than the price you can go and buy one for. Similarly nobody "buys" a castle - you have to employ architects, masons and labourers at sp rates per day to build your castle or dungeon.

That's what I'd like to see, anyway.

Cheers

 

[Plane Sailing]

Maybe in my next campaign the economy will operate on a Salt Standard.

Presumably because you think the NPCs ought to have a salary, no?

 

[Steely Dan]

Bring back electrum pieces!
















…Just kidding.

 

[Dausuul]

I agree with all that. But Dragonlance is/was a Points of Light setting. And the people in it commonly used steel coins because steel was much more important in their difficult gritty lives than gold. They melted the coins down into armor, and weapons, and tools. Thats why it fits.

Except that that pretty much ignores the whole process of manufacturing steel in medieval society. Making steel by hand is a very labor-intensive process. It'd be idiotic, especially for people leading such dirt-poor lives, to make the steel into coins, and then go through the whole process again to turn the coins into weapons and armor. Besides, they didn't have stainless steel back then. The stuff would rust. If it was being passed from hand to hand, getting exposed to skin oils all the time, it'd rust very quickly.

If you were going to use steel as a unit of currency, you'd just trade in steel goods directly. Much more likely, you'd just stick to using gold, silver, and copper. If your life was so difficult that you couldn't spare the labor to make new gold/silver/copper coins, you'd just use the ones already in circulation (and the value of those coins would shoot up).

As to the how, sure it may have been hard in Medieval times. But in DnD we have people that can do magic to alter the physical world and have craftsmen that can create amazing fantastical creations. Its not too hard to think of them being able to mint neat steel coins.

First off, if they have the considerable magic required to make steel coins economical, why are they wasting it on steel coins? Why not use it for something that would help them in their "difficult, gritty lives?"

Second, who is working all this magic? Are there wizards someplace churning out Mordenkainen's Easily Reforgeable Non-Rusting Steel Coins? If so, how come the Knights of Solamnia aren't boycotting the heck out of them? It's certainly not clerical magic, since that vanished with the Cataclysm and it was after the Cataclysm that the steel coin system got started.

Third, this argument boils down to "a wizard did it," which is something of a cop-out.

Bottom line, having steel coins as a widespread form of currency requires a serious rethinking of the economic system--the magic "technology" involved would surely have some major ramifications beyond simple coinage.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I agree with all that. But Dragonlance is/was a Points of Light setting. And the people in it commonly used steel coins because steel was much more important in their difficult gritty lives than gold. They melted the coins down into armor, and weapons, and tools. Thats why it fits.

As to the how, sure it may have been hard in Medieval times. But in DnD we have people that can do magic to alter the physical world and have craftsmen that can create amazing fantastical creations. Its not too hard to think of them being able to mint neat steel coins.

If people are melting down coinage to make weapons doesn't that make it less useful to use steel for coins? I mean wouldn't it just be easier to use the raw steel to make the weapon? DL's coinage system always bugged me.