Arms

Currency of the Humans

Coins of gold, silver, and copper change hands, transactions completed without a second thought to the pieces of metal that swiftly move from person to person. To some, coinage has worth beyond the value ascribed to it by its kingdom, value in decoration or history, but not in this place. Nothing has changed about these coins from the first moment that they were minted in the city forged by Dern. As much as Humans invest in progress and defining a society without the long lives of the other Elder Races, their currency has been caught in the past and never moves forward.
Arms are the currency of the Human Empire, supposedly first established after Stronghold was built by the god Dern. Since the first minting of the coins, very little has changed about their design, other than the standardization of weights and values as determined by the Standard Metal Value agreed upon by most of the world. Each denomination of coin has set designs to mark their value and small design changes are allowed by the current ruler of the Empire, but even these small changes have not occurred in centuries.
Unlike the currencies of the Elven and Fairy Kingdoms, Arms have little to no collection value as their designs are noted to be "ridiculously plain" compared to many other currencies. Many believe that the coinage could benefit from changes that reflect the eras of the Empire, but change on this front has been slow at best. Coinage to Humans is considered a necessity of trade and transaction, something to make and use. History in the form of coins is not something many are invested in.

Design

This currency was given the name Arms due to the imprints on the various coins that are used. The Human Empire is one of the few kingdoms that utilizes adamantite coins and so their design structure also includes imprints for the highest value coin utilized in the Standard Metal Value. From lowest value to highest, the coins are imprinted with a dagger, a spear, a sword, a halberd, a great axe, and a maul.
At one point, a past emperor chose to add a small amount of filigree and design behind the imprint of the weapon to give the coins the elegance that other currencies like Branches or Ages had, but it is widely believed that this slight change failed to do what was expected. Even so, the design has rarely, if ever, been changed again as it seems unnecessary, especially when more dies would need to be crafted for the minting process.

History

It is believed that some version of Arms has existed since the god Dern built the original city for the Humans, but no true records exist that give truth to this claim. The oldest dies used in the minting process have existed since the establishment of the Human Empire, kept in the treasury of Stronghold where all coins in the Empire are created. These dies were utilized for centuries, as the currency changed little. The first recorded change in the currency did not occur until about five centuries before the beginning of the Eldritch War.
One emperor did order a slight design change to the coinage, adding small decorations behind the imprints that can still be seen today. Even the records of this change are not complete, missing key points about when the change exactly took place and the full reasons behind it, although it is believed that the emperor wished to stand out to their Elven neighbors.

Arms

Gold Arms by Image via Midjourney, created by Riverfang

Arms, the currency used in the Human Empire, is by far one of the most nondescript currencies used on the Northern Continent. The plainness of the coins gives them little collectability and interest beyond using them for daily transactions.

Item type

Currency & Deeds

Related ethnicities

• Clay Giant Culture
• Halfling Culture
• Human Culture

Owning Organization

Human Empire