The Arabian Alliance Sultanates Currency

Gold, silver, and copper are used to coin trade currency in the Arabian Sultanates.

Copper coins, the lowest denominator, are discs with holes in their center, more resembling rings than coins. They are usually strung together with a leather thong, or braided cotton or hemp. These are widely accepted with little regard to how rough they look or feel, even if the circle of the coin is broken, so long as no big chunk of it is gone.

Silver comes in the shape of slender, finger-long sticks. The thickness of these sticks makes them fit comfortably through the holes of the copper coins. How uniform and clean-cut a bundle of sticks may look and feel gives hint to which Sultanate it came from. Sultanates with better industry would not allow the issuance of a silver batch that has noticeable variance in length or girth. The length of a silver stick is widely used to measure out its worth in copper coins; simply by seeing how many copper coins it can go through, end to end, plus or minus a coin depending on the nature of the exchange.

For gold, each Sultanate has its ruling figure, or emblem embossed on a circular coin, but all gold coins weigh the same, regardless of which Sultanate they're from. Gold coins are seldom seen in markets, even for large purchases. It's more common to see bundles of silver sticks - big enough for a grown man to wrap their hand around. And ten bundles are worth a gold coin in exchange. Gold is issued by the ruler of a sultanate to be saved in banks, or used by merchant guilds, or to create trade with other Sultanates and countries. A Sultanate with a gold mine, but without the industry to create the coins, would make a deal to have their own coin minted in a neighboring Sultanate.

Common expressions:

• Beggar's tooth: A useless copper coin, due to a missing chunk, being bent, or other disfigurement that prevent it from lining up in a neat stack with other coins.
• "I'm all out of holes.": I have no money. Used by crass commoners.
• "I'm all out of rings.": I have no money. A more refined expression.
• A fat necklace: A leather thong - long enough to fit around an adult's neck - lined with copper coins to the point it sags, and would weigh heavy on the wearer. Equal to referring to a full purse.
• "Finger me.": Give me money. With hope for silver. Very crass.
• "My bones are cold.": A common, and well-mannered way to ask for a tip or a few more coins on an exchange. Weaving it subtly into small talk is the trick.
• Silver-haired sprout: A rich, young person.
• Bony fist: A stack of silver sticks.
• Silver knuckles: A person with several stacks of silver sticks.
• The sultan's bum: If a gold coin has the Sultan's figure embossed on one side, this would refer to the flip side.

Item type

Currency & Deeds