Awldor Currencies

Whatever your opinion on currency and how it should be managed, it is one of the most important aspects of a functioning civilization.

— Alicia Ravenwood, Historian

Overview

As part of the reconstruction of civilization after the The Great Collapse, an intermediary good with which one can claim a future good or service arose. This intermediary good allows for more immediate and more flexible trade between two parties. Under a barter system one party had to have goods or services ready that another party wants which didn't always happen.


As people bonded together to form tribes they adopted an intermediary good (currency) to facilitate orderly transactions between each member of the tribe. These currencies ranged from nuggets of precious medals (some plundered from Ancient Order ruins, to seashells. As power among political entities coalesced around few and stronger groups the number of currency options decreased. Coins made of gold or silver became a common form of currency due to the near universal value such medals had.

Coins in Official Circulation

Lunarian Elitră - These coins have the Lunarian Queen on the obverse side and the Lunar Crescent on the reverse side. These coins the official currency in the Queendom of Lunaria. Elitrăs are made using silver.
Helian Aurum - These coins have the Helian King on the obverse side and the Blazing Sun on the reverse side. These coins the official currency in the Kingdom of Helia. Aurums are made using gold, which makes these coins among the most valuable to possess.
Centrum Oculus - These coins have the Prosperity Eye on the obverse side and the Lucet Lighthouse on the reverse side. These coins the official currency in the Free City-State of Centrum. Oculus' are made using copper.
Centrum Fibra - An experimental currency that the banks are testing with some success in the merchant city (with approval from the Director's Council). Essentially, these slips of paper are claims on deposits of Oculus' that the bank holds. They allow for trade to occur without actually having to move large amounts of heavy and very noticeable coins. The paper Sable Fiber embedded in to replicate the eye and lighthouse found on the Oculus. Fibra are not yet officially recognized outside of Centrum.

Vhara Ezüst - These coins have the on the Miner's Tools (A hammer, a pickaxe, a chisel, and a shovel bundled together) on the obverse side and the Marble Mountain on the reverse side. These coins the official currency in the Kingdom of Vhara. Ezüsts are made using silver.
Vavahady Kofa - These coins have the West Gate on the obverse side and the East Gate on the reverse side. These coins are the official currency in the Gateway City of Vavahady. Kofas are made from copper.

Author's Note: This is not an exhaustive list of every currency that exists in Awldor. More may be added to this article in the future. - Archivist Theta

Coins No Longer in Official Circulation

Avistarian Gemelo - These coins are identifiable by the Avistarian Prince/Princess on the obverse side and the Sundered Crown of Avistar on the reverse side. These were supplanted by the Helian Aurum after the Principality of Avistar was conquered by the Kingdom of Helia. Gamelos were made using copper.

Centrum Currency Exchange

As trading activity on the Quassus Continent become more complex and intertwined, so has the need to convert currencies of one country or peoples to another. If such a service was never provided, one would find it exceedingly difficult to conduct orderly transactions with another party when neither used the same currency. Enter the Centrum Currency Exchange, a service provided by various banks headquartered on Centrum that allows one trader to exchange one kind of currency for another (with a small fee of course). It used to be that this exchange needed to happen on Visus Island, but the banks saw an opportunity and have opened branches at other major cities in order to facilitate convenience of trade.

Current Rates (According to the Centrum Exchange):

Coin:	Aurum	Elitră	Oculus	Kofa	Fibra	Ezüst
Aurum	1	1/5	1/25	1/25	5	1/5
Elitră	5	1	1/5	1/5	25	1
Oculus	25	5	1	1	125	5
Kofa	25	5	1	1	125	5
Fibra	1/5	1/25	1/125	1/125	1	1/25
Ezüst	5	1	1/5	1/5	25	1

Minting Coins:

Minting coins is the job of a country's officially designated minting service. The standard operation of these involves the purchase of extracted rare metals obtained through an exclusive contract with a specially designated guild. These ores are then melted and mixed with another metal, usually a secret, in order to produce coins fit for currency.
As the years go on and ancient coins are discovered, the process of minting today's coins evolves.

If it's valuable then someone will create a cheap imitation of it.

— Anonymous, Minter

Counterfeit Coins

As with anything valuable, there are those who will attempt to create and use similar looking items that are actually a fraction of the value of the genuine article.
While the details will not be discussed here, it is sufficient to say that there exists an arms race between coin minters and counterfeiters. As the former develops ever more elaborate schemes to distinguish their product from your common sheet of metal, the latter will get more creative to create an ever more difficult to spot imitation.

Note(s) from the Archivists:

I actually have a collection of coins from various cultures. - Archivist Theta 
How much is it worth? - Archivist Bob 
Not much. - Archivist Theta