Coins of the Iron Kingoms Material in Caen | World Anvil
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Coins of the Iron Kingoms

Each kingdom in western Immoren mints its own coinage as a right of sovereignty. Because the Corvis Treaties established standard weights for coins of each primary precious metal, Khadoran and Ordic coins generally have similar weights as Cygnaran ones, although they sometimes have a different size, shape, or purity. Most coins have different images stamped on each side, with one bearing the face of the monarch who reigned when the coin was minted. All coins include decorative features intended to discourage counterfeiting, but some currency is trusted more than others.

Gold, silver, and copper are favored for currency. The last of these is still widespread among the lower classes but has fallen out of use for commerce, and many reputable establishments refuse to trade in anything less than silver. Except for Cygnaran gold crowns and silver shields, which are widely accepted across western Immoren, most establishments refuse payment in foreign coins or will charge a higher price for such transactions . Dedicated money changers operate in most sizable towns, usually taking a percentage of the exchange as a service fee.

The Protectorate of Menoth was originally forbidden from minting coins, but shortly after the nation’s founding, its scrutators created a unique currency designed to prevent citizens from amassing wealth or seeking to trade outside the Protectorate’s borders. This currency, made from fired clay, was worthless in other nations, so the citizens of the Protectorate used gemstones and raw materials when trading abroad.

CYGNARAN COINAGE

The Cygnaran Currency table shows the coins commonly used throughout Cygnar, as well as their standard values within Cygnar’s borders. These coins are widely accepted in other kingdoms as well.

 
Coin Value
Farthing 1 Copper
Half-Shield 5 Copper
Shield 1 Silver
Crown 1 Gold
Swan 2 Gold
Tower 1 Platinum

Swans and towers are quite uncommon among the lower classes but appear with some frequency among those who trade in volume and do not want to carry heavy coin purses. In the wrong circles, however, showing too many swans or towers—or even crowns—is a good way to get targeted by thieves. Most merchants do not enjoy making a lot of change and appreciate customers who can pay in the right coin.

Khadoran Currency



The Khadoran Currency table shows the coins used throughout Khador, as well as their standard values within Khador’s borders.

Coin Value
Kuppek ("horn") 1 Copper
Denescka ("hoof") 1 Silver
Koltina ("talon") 1 Gold
Platinavy ("fang") 1 Platinum


LLAELESE COINAGE

The Llaelese Currency table shows the coins used throughout Llael, as well as their standard values within Llael’s borders.

Coin Value
Kettle 1 Copper
Keep 1 Silver
Goldbust (or "goldhead") 1 Gold
Ascendant 1 platinum


Like the coins minted by the other Iron Kingdoms, newly minted goldbusts, often referred to as “busts” or “heads,” bear the face of the current sovereign. While Llael’s throne sat empty, the Council of Nobles minted goldbusts with the national emblem, the Crown and Stars. During the years of the Khadoran occupation, Deyar Glabryn had goldbusts minted with his own likeness, but these coins were melted down and reminted by order of Queen Kaetlyn upon her ascending the throne.

The platinum ascendants were part of an ambitious project whereby coins were minted in honor of the various ascendants of Morrow. Unfortunately, the large number of styles made the project too expensive. It was abandoned in favor of a more generic design, but not before a small quantity of ascendant-specific coins were minted. These items are valuable to many collectors and pious Morrowans alike, and they fetch more than their face value if sold to the right people.

ORDIC COINAGE

The Ordic Currency table shows the coins used throughout Ord, as well as their standard values within Ord’s borders.

Coin Value
Blackpenny 1 copper
Half-galleon 5 Copper
Galleon 1 Silver
Silverweight 2 Silver
Royal 1 Gold


Blackpennies are so named because their minting process and mix leave the coins considerably darker than coppers minted elsewhere. Much of Ord’s populace is impoverished; thus, blackpennies and half-galleons are the nation’s most commonly used currencies. The bother and expense to coin platinum has never even been considered in Ord, so major transactions are counted in royals or Cygnaran crowns and towers. Indeed, the widespread use of Cygnaran coinage among the well-heeled has made the use of Ordic tender other than royals a sign of low station to the affluent.

RHULIC COINAGE

The Rhulic Currency table shows the coins used throughout Rhul, as well as their standard value within that nation’s borders.

Coin Value
Uhl 1 Silver
Gul 1 Gold
Dugul 1 Platinum


The Rhulfolk find the proliferation of coins among the human kingdoms quite irksome. The dwarves mint all their currency from one metal—gold—and they use a standard size for each of their three coins. A special office overseen by the Moot ensures absolute accuracy in the minting process, and Rhul’s deceptively simple coins possess an amazingly consistent size and weight as a result. Specially engineered scales utilized in the testing process can measure differences in weight to the hair, and the Rhulfolk’s technique for scoring curious markings along the edges of their coins makes counterfeiting difficult. All Rhulic coins bear the names of the Great Fathers on one side and the face of Ghord—Great Father of Wealth—on the other. Below Ghord’s face is an old Rhulic phrase that translates roughly as “A curse upon he who would put this coin to ill ends, yet may it be doubled if put to good use.”

For many reasons, Rhulic coins have become popular among traders. Their precise weights ensure that no seller is overpaid by so much as a single gram, and some merchants even believe the coins bring good luck to those who deal fairly.

OTHER CURRENCIES

Along with the many currencies of ancient kingdoms, like the black talents of the Kingdom of Morrdh and the Tordoran dobla, a few more recent currencies have become either drastically devalued or exceedingly rare. For example, the clay staves, marks, and talents used by the Protectorate of Menoth, already worthless beyond the kingdom’s borders, have lost what little value they once held inside the Protectorate itself. Without a strong government to enforce their value, these clay chits and beads are effectively worthless. Trade in the deserts east of Cygnar is now almost entirely based on barter or conducted with precious gems.

In some communities, raw Menoth’s Fury is traded instead of currency, with a pint of the liquid valued at around three Cygnaran crowns.

Ios’ elaborate coins—the silver ly, gold nyos, and platinum glyos—have never been commonplace in the Iron Kingdoms, and their novelty sometimes made them more valuable than their composition or weight. But as rare as they were, they have become even rarer with the elven nation’s mysterious present condition. No trade passes through the Gate of Mists in either direction, and thus no more of this unique currency has made its way into the human and dwarven kingdoms.

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