I have took my first major hurdle head on in my planning/ writing my current project, apart for the overall plot.. which is still sketchy in parts.
Currency! and believe me there is nothing more in this world that I hate, then Maths!.
In many of my favourite book series, as it does in the real world, money plays a really big part. now I didn’t want to be boring and go for the samey Pounds and pence, which is the coin of the realm in which I live, so I turned to some of my best loved literature for inspiration! here are just a few of the many that I looked at.
| The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | Altairian Dollar, Flanian Pobble Bead, Triganic Pu subunit: Ningi (1/8) |
| Harry Potter series | Galleon subunits: Sickle (1/17), Knut (1/493)). |
| The Kingkiller Chronicle: Vintas | Halfpenny/Penny (2 Halfpennies)/Bit (2.5 Pennies)/Quarter Bit (2 Bits)/Round (8 Quarter Bits)/Royal (10 Rounds)/Haft (10 Bits)/Noble (2 Hafts)/Reel (2.5 Nobles)/Five Reel Piece (5 Reels) |
| The Kingkiller Chronicle: Ceald | Shim/Iron Drab (11 Shims)/Copper Jot (10 Drabs)/Silver Talent (10 Jots)/Gold Mark (10 Talents) |
| The Kingkiller Chronicle: Commonwealth | Iron Penny (3 Shims)/Ha’Penny (3 Iron Pennies)/Copper Penny (2 Ha’Pennies)/Silver Penny (10 Copper Pennies)/Common (12 Silver Pennies) |
| Legend trilogy | Republic Notes (or just Notes) |
| A Song of Ice and Fire (Westeros) | Gold Dragon (denominations: Silver Stag and Copper Penny) |
| World of Greyhawk Novels and RPG system by Gary Gygax | Iron Drab, Brass Bit, Bronze Zee, Copper Common, Silver Noble, Electrum Lucky, Gold Orb, Platinum Plate |
Note how they all vary in complexity! from the simpleness of the Legend Trilogy to the complexity of Rothfuss’s master piece the King Killer Chronicles, having different currency for different lands, the whole idea of having a foreign currency exchange in my mind is too much to bare at the moment, so I am afraid at-least for now, my currency will be a lot more straight forward.
I though that making the currency on the 1 gold and 100 copper kind of scale, but I felt that left far to much of a gap, and carrying around 99 of anything will be very irritating to the character (although that may be amusing) it is highly in-practicable. so I decided the largest denomination of money would be worth 8 of the smallest, keeps it nice and simple really. (I hope)
Picking the name for my Currency was the most difficult part when it came down to it, I have literally racked my brain for over an hour, there are so many to pick from! but I felt I wanted to give the story a little bit of myself, and so I have decide to loosely base my currency on one of my greatest loves, which i may have been partaking at the time of my epiphany.. but you cant prove anything.. it is of course BISCUITS!
So My currency for the moment.. looks a little like this:
| Artificer Reborn (GearBourne Guild #1) – J. S Harrison | Golden Bisc (1/1), Silver Chip (2=1 Bisc), Copper Crum (4=1 Bisc) Brass Jot (8 =1 Bisc) |
As this has taken me, well over 2 hours to come up with and get down on paper..(so to speak) but now that crisis has been averted.. I need to deal with my next one, and I will need my emergency biscuit spoon, I have lost one to the great drink.. and its a most devastating and upsetting affair when you reach the bottom of your tea to find a soggy biscuit!
Let me know what you think, and if you have had a similar problem! its good to share knowledge after all!
Until next time, read more books!
Between|the|Blurb 
If the copper piece is half the value of the silver piece then it must be fifty times the weight of the silver piece? That would be a colossal coin. In fact, not beating about the bush, if you applied the relative Earth values of the present day to the metals in your universe, then if the gold piece were coin sized, the silver piece would have to be the size of a saucer and the copper piece the size of a huge plate (at least a foot in diameter).
But don’t worry too much about my pedantry – I’m guessing your story is set on another planet or in a totally different reality.
One of many errors in the Kingskiller Chronicles currency is his calling the coins things like “drab” and “jot.” The point of a currency is that people must believe in it for it to be accepted by everyone and thus be spendable. If it is given such disparaging names, then not many would have faith in it and want to use it.
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