I daresay it's an odd look to some, seeing tradecoin. The alpsfolk aren't the most enamoured with it, normally; say it's too soft, too easy to break and tear. But there's no way their clunky metal will be taken by the Kajan. Hell, even the plains kingdoms don't like the stuff. Tradecoin's used everywhere.
Appearance
Tradecoins are small pieces of thick paper, typically able to be held in the palm of one's hand. Depending on the value of the tradecoin, different letters from the common alphabet are printed on the paper. These are typically written in red or black ink, although on occasion blue or even green has been used.
Use
Tradecoins are a method of payment that is accepted in all of Mythia's various nations. Typically carried by merchants who ply their trade between either the
Mountain Empire or various city states and the Plains kingdoms, they are backed by the Plains kingdoms and equivalent to their local currency.
History
Originally, tradecoins were actual spellwrits. Used within the plains kingdoms in a time where official currencies were weak and unreliable, spellwrits held reasonably constant value and were traded in exchange for goods and services. Over time, as official currencies gained prominence, the spellwrits became more symbolic in nature, eventually coming to represent the official coin as they do today.
Although initially confined to the plains kingdoms, as international trade began to expand across Mythia, they were adopted as a convenience measure for international trade. Eventually, they began to be produced by the other kingdoms as well, allowing even more widespread use.
Cultural Perception
Some cultures, particularly those of the Mountain Empire, frown upon the use of tradecoin within their borders, often borne from a desire to not have their sovereignty infringed upon by foreign currency passing through their borders. More commonly, however, people see it as a tool of a lower social caste - namely, the merchant caste - and so those who are high in status within particular countries eschew its use in favour of native money.
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