Coins of Faeloria

Throughout Faeloria, coins serve as the backbone of commerce, uniting diverse kingdoms under a shared standard of value. While nations mint their own marks and emblems, the basic coinage system is universal, ensuring trade flows smoothly across borders.

Standard Currency System

Copper Coin
Iron Coin
Silver Coin
Gold Coin
Platinum Coin

All coins in Faeloria follow the same value progression:

100 Copper = 1 Iron
100 Iron = 1 Silver
100 Silver = 1 Gold
100 Gold = 1 Platinum

This shared scale ensures even distant kingdoms can trade without constant revaluing.

Types of Coins

Copper Coins

The most common coin, used daily by farmers, merchants, and laborers. Copper coins are rough-hewn and often tarnished, carried in pouches by nearly everyone. They are used for food, drink, lodging, and minor services.

Iron Coins

Favored for trade among craftspeople and soldiers’ pay, iron coins are heavier and darker than copper. Though prone to rust, their durability makes them suitable for bulk exchange in markets and shipping.

Silver Coins

Silver is the preferred coin of travelers, adventurers, and scholars. Its value makes it practical for larger transactions while still common enough to circulate widely. Silver coins often bear intricate designs, making them a favorite for collectors.

Gold Coins

Gold coins are a sign of wealth and prestige. Nobles, guild leaders, and military officers often transact in gold, and many kingdoms pay their diplomats and spies in this denomination. Gold is rare enough to command respect, but common enough to still flow through major trade routes.

Platinum Coins

Platinum coins are rare, usually reserved for treasuries, royal courts, or large-scale transactions between nations. A single platinum coin may represent the value of a ship, a fortified estate, or a year's wages for dozens of workers.

The Elfmark

The Elfmark predates the common system, once used exclusively by the elves. Elven artisans minted these coins in mithril and enchanted alloys, their value both monetary and symbolic. Though no longer in daily circulation, Elfmarks are still found in ancient hoards, prized by collectors, and sometimes accepted at far higher value than their weight in platinum.

Minting and Design

All nations of Faeloria adhere to the same standard shape and weight for coins, ensuring their value cannot be disputed across borders. However, the faces of the coins vary:

In Avaria, coins often bear the image of the Hartwright dynasty or symbols of the gods.
In Kokoro, coins feature natural motifs—lotuses, cranes, dragons—reflecting spiritual harmony.
In Dalr, coins are marked with stark runes and depictions of mountains, storms, or the frost wolf.

Regardless of design, the edges are uniformly milled, preventing shaving or counterfeiting.

Circulation

Copper & Iron — Circulate most among peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants.
Silver — Common in larger markets, universities, and adventurers’ guilds.
Gold — Stored in noble vaults, guild treasuries, and royal coffers.
Platinum — Exchanged almost exclusively by monarchs, high clergy, and major guildmasters.

Counterfeiting and Magical Security

Counterfeiting is rare, as all mints are reinforced with arcane wards. Enchanters embed faint runes of authenticity into coins, visible only under moonlight or when touched with Fae silver. Forging false coins is considered a crime against the gods, punished severely in all kingdoms.

Cultural Views

Avarians see coins as a symbol of trust and divine order, often blessing their wealth in Ariana’s temples.
Dalrians treat coins as tools of survival, preferring barter for everyday goods but valuing iron and silver for military trade.
Kokorans honor coinage as a reflection of balance; some nobles commission coins as offerings to kami and ancestors.