Koruna
Liquid coins
We never really had any money in those days. But when we were lucky, one of us'd nab a spot of cancenium out of an enubis clam and pawn it off on some unsuspecting rube as a genuine koruna.
Suav Naj Kia, Llanpiq porter, 3405 AoG
K
oruna are a common form of coinage amongst all Inqoan nations, although they are frequently accepted in non-Inqoan lands across eastern Islegantuan. They are known for their uneven, roughly-circular shapes and their translucent nature. In some nations, they are drilled through the center with metal bearings, allowing collections of them to be hung from strings in the way that other coins might be held in a purse.
Cancenium
They consist of a hard translucent material known as cancenium. It is only found in the enubis clam, a species that resides solely in the Aequin Ocean, off the northeastern shores of Islegantuan. Every enubis clam contains a single disc of cancenium, with the size of the deposit being roughly analogous to the size of the host clam. Because the Inqoans are famous for mining food and minerals from the depths of the Aequin, there are few cancenium merchants that are not Inqoan or do not hail from Inqoan regions. Cancenium has its own reputation as a precious gemstone and not all cancenium is used in the manufacture of koruna. "Gem grade" cancenium is instead repurposed for use in jewelry and other adornments.
Manufacturing process
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nqoan mints use a closely-guarded process in the crafting of koruna. A secret heating technology is used to imbue a denomination and a royal seal into the translucent material. Depending upon the process used, the denomination can sometimes be seen when the coins are lying flat in a poorly-lit setting. But it's typically difficult to properly inspect a koruna without first holding it up to the light. For this reason, it's not uncommon to find thieves and other deceitful grifters trying to pass off "regular" bits of cancenium as proper coinage. It can be risky to present an entire cache of cancenium in place of coins. But unwary merchants are much more likely to accept a few chunks of simple cancenium as money when they're included in a larger store of genuine coins.
Denominations
Koruna denominations are determined entirely by the scale of the cancenium nugget from which they're crafted. In the minting process, a trusted lieutenant of the royal treasury will carefully weigh and measure each polished piece and assign a denomination accordingly. This can make the process of counting out koruna tedious. Because a handful of the coins might contain a 3-koruna piece, a 23-koruna piece, a 67-koruna piece, or even a 121-koruna piece.
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