Nonstandard Coins?

[TheYeti1775]

CP/SP/EP/GP/PP are standard in my games. Using a base 10 to 1 ratio throughout it, makes accounting easier.
Rarer coins are those of Adamantite, Mithril, Tin, Bronze, etc.
CP 1000000
SP 100000
EP 10000
GP 1000
PP 100
MP 10
AP 1


I commonly use Trade Bars of each material and Writs of Credit as well.
Trade bars come in 100/1000/10000 coin sizes.

I do like the ancient Wizard coin idea, considered the idea yoinked.

Another thing I've done in some of the more magical worlds is merchant guild use of Ring Gates. The merchant family 'Allababa' runs it and our world-wide respected. Most of the Writs of Credit are written by them, and treated much like a Cashier's Check. It eseentially acts as a 'safe' bank for the characters. (Besides its much easier pickpocketing a piece of paper than a million copper pieces. )

Gems are also used as currency as well, though usually only by the very rich and for large purchases when trade bars are impractical.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

I've seen mithril and adamantine coins used in other settings before. In one such setting when we were transported from modern day they thought our dimes were mithril coins, that was nice.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

There is also Exalted currency:

1 talent = 8 bars = 64 minae = 128 shekels = 1,024 obols = 4,096 bits

A talent is a sheet of jade that weights 68 lbs. and each type of coin is a subdivision of those. Each obol on the talent has the imperial seal engraved on it.

Then there is the alternate currency of the paper koku and quian and the copper siu and yen:

1 obol = 8 koku = 64 quian = 128 siu = 1,024 yen

And when compared to silver coinage (using the 4.5 g denier)

1 obol = 336 copper pieces = 33.6 silver pieces = 3.36 gold pieces (by standard D&D currency)

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Sorry about the three posts in a row, there is also the Oriental Adventures coinage:

1 Fen = 1 copper piece
1 Yuan = 5 copper pieces
1 Tael = 10 silver pieces
1 Ch'ien = 10 gold pieces

This is a slight translation due to the fact that 1st Edition didn't use decimalized currency.

1 Ch'ien = 10 Tael = 10 Ch'ao = 200 Yuan = 1000 Fen

The Yuan and Fen were copper coins, the Ch'ao was a paper note, the Tael was a silver coin, and the Ch'ien is a minted small bar.

And you could do so currency speculation because the exchange rates were random:

1 Fen = 0.5 to 1 copper piece
1 Yuan = 1 copper piece
1 Tael = 2d6 silver pieces
1 Ch'ien = 2d8 gold pieces

Ch'ao were worthless outside of Kara-Tur

But it wasn't reciprocal for silver or gold:

1 copper piece = 0.5 fen
1 silver piece = 1d6 + 7 fen
1 gold piece = 2d6 + 2 tael
1 platinum piece = market value of metal (presumably x10 the value of gold)

The OA book was insistent that gold was worthless except for decoration. But I read Clavell's Shogun and realized that wasn't true. The Japanese had a gold coin called the Koban which was equal to one Koku of rice (the amount producable on a standardized farm in a year), so a Koban would equal 5 ch'ien.

 

[Jdvn1]

Yes. I imagined though that Amber was actually produced in caverns from some sort of unusual plant. They would mine it and shape it into coins. In some cases they would actually collect it before it solidifies and shaped it into coins.

So... money grows on trees in your campaign? Can I play a farmer?