Coins and Currency

“Once, loyalty was considered the coin of the realm. These days, perhaps unsurprisingly, the coin of the realm is… coin.”

• Antonio, ‘Tis a Pity She’s a Minotaur, Act 2, Scene 1

Although trade and barter happens at an informal level everywhere in the world, with the exchange of goods or services directly fuelling informal economies throughout, coins of gold, silver, and copper are commonly used to denote worth (and to facilitate trade between people who may not have something to directly exchange). Coinage tends to be minted by kingdoms and lands, but theoretically any sufficiently wealthy person could mint their own coins – with the understanding that not all such coins would necessarily be traded at parity.

Part of the Continental Trade Agreement throughout Ariel establishes a standard for trade-weight in coinage. Signatories to the Continental Trade Agreement share an agreement to accept coin more or less on par with one another, with established purities and dross weight. Coinage minted prior to the establishment of the Continental Trade Agreement may not be accepted on parity with modern currency, but may be valued for their component precious metals, or may be sold to a collector interested in pieces from antiquity.

Harodom Coinage

In the Lakes Region, Harodom coinage is prevalent, although every nation that participates in trade mints some currency of their own. Harodom coins are decimal-based, with copper, silver, and gold, being used to denote different amounts of coin.

100 copper is 10 silver is 1 gold.

Prices are usually expressed in copper pieces, and the coins are minted with their value largely printed on the side in copper, unless otherwise specified – larger currencies are thicker rather than wider to accommodate larger numbers, and thus may be pressed as such.

Following an effort to eliminate forgery, sweating, and clipping of currency, all new coins in Harodom are minted of (fairly) pure silver, with the value in copper stamped on one side, and ‘FA’ – for King Francis Alexander – printed on the other. The coins have a thin raised lip, preventing the easy clipping of coins to be reminted as new coins. Although all coins are pressed from silver, they are still colloquially named for their denominations – with values of 1-9 expressed as copper, multiples of 10 marked as silver, and multiples of 100 marked as gold.

Previous coins have become a relative rarity, with the coins minted from copper, silver, and gold, with gold coins having an impressed eye emblem on one side, in honour of the house of Haro’s faith in the goddess Fiona. These coins may have value to a collector, but are no longer accepted by the major merchant houses as anything other than a curiosity. The Kingdom is still seeking to reclaim the precious metals of the previous coins, and anyone who comes across them is encouraged to visit a Kingdom-backed money changer, who will give them most of the value for the old money, if it is in good condition.

Trade Ingots and Gems

It is not uncommon for those dealing in large denominations, especially over international borders, to deal in larger ingots of pure metal, rather than in coins. Trade ingots of gold and silver are usually stamped with the mine or merchant house that created them, and are worth coin based on their weight and purity. These ingots are often used in the manufacture of jewellery, and are largely immune to markup or markdown by merchants.

Gemstones similarly have taken on a role as a de facto currency. Precious stones have a set value based on their utility in the manufacture of Vessels, and the Guild Arcane monitors the gem exchange to ensure that this value is maintained, making them extremely useful in international – and clandestine – trade.

Authored by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
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