Merchant: That'll be 8 silver pieces, please.
Foreigner: 8 pieces of silver? What size?
Merchant: Don't get smart with me, son! Give me the money, or get out!
Foreigner: No no... I really don't understand what you mean. Money?
Merchant: Guards!
Dungeons&Dragons did a major disservice to lovers of realism when it introduced the standard 'gold', 'silver', 'copper' system. Realism and world flavor were sacrificed on the altar of simplicity. Not all groups care: they prefer the simplicity. Also, gamers are free to introduce their own variants: which is what I am doing here.
In this document, I present a system of currency to replace the 'standard' D&D system. It is a plug-in replacement, and is to be made as easy to adopt as possible.
Why Change What's There?The Dungeons&Dragons monetary system massively undervalues gold and silver. Historically, a few pieces of gold were extremely valuable. Not so in a standard D&D campaign world. The reasoning behind this can be found in the 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG). I haven't found a reference from 2nd Edition. On page 90, in the section The Campaign (Economics), Gary Gygax writes:
There is no question that the prices and costs of the game are based on inflationary economy, one where a sudden influx of silver and gold has driven everything well beyond its normal value. The reasoning behind this is simple. An active campaign will most certainly bring a steady flow of wealth into the base area, as adventurers come from successful trips into dungeon and wilderness. If the economy of the area is one which more accurately reflects that of medieval England, let us say, where coppers and silver coins are usual and a gold piece remarkable, such an influx of new money, even in copper and silver, would cause an inflationary spiral. This would necessitate you adjusting costs accordingly and then upping dungeon treasures somewhat to keep pace. If a near-maximum is assumed, then the economics of the area can remain relatively constant, and the DM will have to adjust costs only for things in demand or short supply -- weapons, oil, holy water, men-at-arms, whatever.
This argument may be sound economically (I don't know enough about economics to know: why would the standard D&D economy not itself go into an "inflationary spiral"?). However, I have two issues with it.
First, not every campaign consists of brave adventurers going out to battle dragons, hauling back wagonloads of loot, and then dumping it into the economy. In my campaigns, people travel a lot more, there are typically very few 'adventurers', and adventurers tend not to find much loot.
Second, even if I did run a campaign like this, I would probably want to adjust prices. Imagine the player's reaction when they are suddenly super-rich after finding all this gold, then discovering that once they start spending it, everybody else is super-rich, too! <chuckle>
Dungeons&Dragons has an extremely flavorless monetary system. 'Gold pieces', 'silver pieces', etc, may be good for a video game, but reflect very poorly the rich heritage of monetary systems that existed in earth's own history, let alone a fantasy world. Historically, coins had many names given them by many people. Even modern coinage has odd names: 'quarter', 'nickle', 'dime', 'penny', are all interesting names: why can't D&D have something similar?
An AlternativeHere is presented a complete coinage system. It lacks platinum and electrum coins, for various reasons, but contains a new coin: the brass piece, which is worth one-tenth of a copper piece.
In my generic currency system, I reject this inflated economics system. Instead, I propose upgrading every coin to the value of the next higher coin. Thus, a silver coin is now worth a gold coin, etc. This is not a new idea: others have had it before me.
To use existing price lists, take any listed price and divide by 10: the money is now worth 10 times more than is standard.
The quick rule is: 1 golden eagle = 10 silver ladies = 100 copper pence = 1000 brass bits
Since the currency is not entirely recycled each time a new set of royalty takes the throne, there are often coins with older ruler's images upon them. A clear idea here is that of some king whose image is very rare, because all of the coins were recalled, for some reason...
Some number of foreign coins are in circulation amongst the silver and gold. Silver coins are worth the same as local silver coins as long as the royal mint stamps a mark upon the coin indicating that the coin should be accepted. Foreign gold coins are worth their face value without such a mark, but are very rare, as the government likes to re-mint the gold into local coins.
'Foreign equivalence', listed below, describes the symbols stamped upon various foreign coins to demonstrate equivalence with local currencies.
For those interested, images of roman coins can be found at the Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins Homepage. Note that their terms of use are fairly restrictive, and expressly forbid use of the coin images without prior permission. This is why there are no coin images on this page.
The Golden Eagle is the coin of highest denomination minted by the royal mints. Worth 10 silver ladies, it is rarely seen outside of the hands of lords and the wealthiest of merchants.
The obverse image is that of the current king, eyes set towards his foe on the battlefield. The reverse image is that of an eagle, the image of power.
Gold is rumored to have been more common in times of old, and legends hoardes of gold (typically in the form of golden items, rather than coinage) are not uncommon. It is every peasant's dream to own his weight in Eagles so he can live like a lord.
Acquiring gold, unless the purchaser happens to have some on hand, involves a trip to the royal mint or a moneychanger to convert silver and copper into Eagles, usually for a fee not exceeding 10% (although some places charge more).
Despite being so rarely seen, the Eagle is the basis of the monetary system. Originally set to be the value of a normal cow, the Eagle has remained relatively fixed throughout the years.
Golden Eagles play a significant role in international trade. Gold is certain to be accepted anywhere a merchant is likely to travel, and so often, when travelling to unknown foreign countries, gold is carried rather than silver. Note that while nearly every nation accepts gold as payment, many of them will only accept the gold's weight. Normally, Eagles are worth around 90% of their face value.
An Eagle will buy you a short sword, although you would typically use silver for the purchase. Eagles are used in the purchase of ships and castles, and actual gold often does not change hands: letters of credit or the like are used instead.
The Silver Lady is the largest denomination of coin any normal person sees in their life. Any significant purchase involves Ladies, and any well-to-do merchant will own many of them.
The obverse image on a Lady is that of the queen, gracious and beautiful. The reverse image is that of a charging bull, reminding all that behind the queen sits the king's power. The Lady originally had the image of a sunburst on the back, but the king became afraid that since his image was not always before the populace, they may forget his power and rise against him. Therefore, he placed the bull upon the coin, to remind all that he was always present, and his power was great.
In addition, most other countries will accept Ladies: if not in their face value, at least in their weight as silver. The silver consituting a silver coin is normally worth around 90% of the face value of the coin.
A Lady can buy you a pound of uncommon spice, a small chest, or an axe.
The copper Penny is the backbone of the kingdom's commercial life. Nearly every purchase involves pence (the plural of penny), and it is not uncommon for most persons to own several.
The obverse Penny image is that of some significant male personage in the kingdom (perhaps a councillor or the head of a major guild). The reverse image is that of lady liberty, weighing coins in a marketplace, ensuring fair dealing.
Note that Pence are fiduciary, or token coins. This means that their face value is higher than the value of the bullion making them up, by a significant margin. This means that Pence are only good as currency inside the kingdom. If you try to use them outside of the kingdom, the value of the copper is typically only 5% the value of the coin.
A Penny can buy you a pound of salt, or a meal at a tavern.
Brass Bits are the most common coin in circulation, as they are the least valuable.
The obverse image on the Bit is that of the king's bust. The reverse image has stamped the date of his reign's start.
Bits, like Pence, are token coins, and thus are not typically accepted as currency outside of the kingdom. Their bullion is worthless.
A Bit can buy you an ale at most taverns.
Using this new system, a useful question to ask is: How much money does the typical person have on his body?
Well, let's look at some cases, shall we?
Your typical farmer will have little to no money at all. He will prefer to pay with livestock or various bartering (often eggs are used as payment for services and goods). If anything, a farmer might have 0-3 (d4-1) Bits
A typical poor merchant, which includes such people as fruit sellers and their ilk, will do little better, typically having 2-8 (2d4) bits.
A typical merchant will have more, often 1-4 (d4) pence, and 5-20 (5d4) bits.
Wealthy merchants are the dream of pickpockets and fruitsellers alike: they sometimes carry Ladies around with them: 1-4 (d4), and a smattering of smaller change (2d4 pence, 5d4 bits)
Lords and their ilk have the most money: they may carry any amount of money, but it is not unusual to carry that of a wealthy merchant, plus 0-3 Eagles.
Others may be added here at a later date.