Tellani walked through the market and searched for some nice fruit. It was a special occasion after all, her daughter was getting married. The trip to Beldan, the border town had been long. She would have to return quickly. She saw what she wanted. Another person spoke in a language she did not understand and handed some small papers to the merchant. They looked like playing cards. The merchant handed over some fruit to the man. Playing cards? Tellani thought to herself. She didn't have any of those.
History
The conflict with
Bral had demanded much of the metal produced by
Grara. The distant border region performed a lot of trade and a few years into the conflict the area had few coins remaining. In order to combat this the city of
Beldan tried to issue their own currency. There was little for them to use. Metal was scarce and the town did not have much money. Trading cards were popular in the city. The city offered a deal, turn in your playing cards and you will receive most of the cards back as currency. People were wary at first but eventually began to accept as the supply of coins dwindled. The first border money was signed by the farrun of Beldan on the 67th day of summer in 167RB.
The cards became an important part of daily life in
Beldan and the other permanent settlements on the border began to produce their own card currency as well. The value of the money dropped dramatically in the winter of 168RB due to the amount of cards that had been converted to currency. The currency had recovered by summer the following year only to drop in value again when the war between
Grara and
Bral ended with the signing of the
Ondan Accord. Metals traveled more freely and coins were reintroduced.
Past 171RB card currency has been issued a number of times and remained in use. The cards have little value in
Grara but are still exchanged in the border towns and among the nomadic peoples who live to the north.
Value
The buying power of a card has varied wildly over the two centuries they have been in use. Counterfeits and overprinting have caused inflation during certain periods while paper shortages have caused deflation. Each card was originally stamped with a value in
Kaluuk worth 1, 2, 5, or 10. Since the reintroduction of coins all cards have been treated as the same in value and printings past that point have not been stamped with values in
Kaluuk.
Many people speculated that the border cards would collapse at the end of the war. While the value did drop, it did not collapse. The cards had become a symbol of identity of the people in the region. People did not want the cards to disappear. Whenever too many were made they would eventually dissipate to the nomadic peoples to the north bringing the currency back up in value. In addition, any cards not properly stored or that were heavily used would break down, slowly reducing the amount available.
Creation
Values are stamped onto playing cards which are usually about 6cm by 8cm. In order to turn the cards into legal currency they must be signed by the farrun and the treasurer. The card must then be stamped with the town seal.
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