Currency Overhaul

[Cingal]

The Idea, and Why

As everyone is currently aware, currency isn't terribly useful, the coins are only as valuable as the bars they're made from, and thus it's simply easier to trade in bars or raw materials as they have the same value as a coin, coins have no value of their own and are only as valuable as the materials they're made of and thus, we trade with materials and keep "Points" on out-of-game spreadsheets and what-not.

So, given currency is completely useless in this form, we need to look at how currency is done in real life.

Simply put, Currency cannot be worth the value of it's materials.

A $1 note is not worth a dollar in it's materials, nor is a £1 coin, nor any currency on the planet.

So, what gives a coin it's worth?

A coin is like a point, every currency can be equated to this. A single £1 coin is the same as a single point, everything we want to buy is a certain number of points. Much like the point system the large cities use in HnH.

Thus we must replicate this in game, and the simple way to do this is to again, emulate reality.

Unique Currency

Currency has to be unique, a Bronze coin cannot equal another bronze coin, this is the reason coins are marked, the reason coins have markings such as a head of state or another symbol, it identifies it with the area the currency is valid.

To translate this to HnH you'd have to do the following.

Coin Presses no longer "Just make coins". When a Coin Press is made, it requires a name, and every coin made from this coin press carries this name, for this example we'll use "Sodom Bronze Coin".

Only Bronze Bars go into this press and only "Sodom Bronze Coins" come out.

This would have to be unique, no other coin press could make a coin called "Sodom Bronze Coin", and thus the coinage is unique to the village of Sodom.

I think this could be done using a code system, if we imagine coins like a piece of parchment, the player cannot write on this parchment, instead the coin press inscribes it's unique number onto the parchment and thus nobody else can create the same coin type.

A "Sodom Bronze Coin" is worth 1 point at the town of Sodom. If a player trades a bear with Sodom, they are given 50 Coins, which equates to 50 points. Other items are given values and thus trading based on coins begins, if a player wishes to buy an item from Sodom, it costs them coins.

No other coins may be used in Sodom, Vendors would have a slot for "Accepted Currency" and a coin would be placed in this slot, allowing only currency of that type to be used.

Thus a currency conversion system would evolve, and currency would become an import part of trading.

Flaws

Only one coin press can make a certain coin, thus if this coin press is destroyed, no more coinage of this type can be made. Which is inconvenient, obviously.

Due to the uniqueness, it leaves little room for forgery, and let's face it, forging fake coins would be cool.

Unsure how difficult a system like this would be to implement.

Closing

So, that's the idea, feel free to post anything you think would be useful, if you think this system would work, if it'd actually be used and such and such.

I don't know if this is even feasible from a programming side with Jorb and Loftar, but, well, it's an idea, so, if it's useful for you guys, great! If not, oh well.

[Potjeh]

As everyone is currently aware, currency isn't terribly useful, the only purpose for coinage is to turn into bars, given no way to regulate the quality this means that an item may be worth 10 Q10 bronze coins or 10 Q90 Bronze coins, the coins themselves having completely different values.

This is where you're wrong. You can set minimum accepted quality at coin stands.

[Cingal]

As everyone is currently aware, currency isn't terribly useful, the only purpose for coinage is to turn into bars, given no way to regulate the quality this means that an item may be worth 10 Q10 bronze coins or 10 Q90 Bronze coins, the coins themselves having completely different values.

This is where you're wrong. You can set minimum accepted quality at coin stands.

Oh really? Fair enough, I'll make amendments.

[ScegfOd]

also, the only way that coinage can be worth something other than the metal content, is if melting down said coinage is a crime.
I doubt you can regulate the construction of finery forges that well...

[Cingal]

also, the only way that coinage can be worth something other than the metal content, is if melting down said coinage is a crime.
I doubt you can regulate the construction of finery forges that well...

Or make it so that coinage can't be melted down.

The point is to remove it's function as "Like ingots but..." and instead be more like a token system.

[Tonkyhonk]

also, the only way that coinage can be worth something other than the metal content, is if melting down said coinage is a crime.

really? i had never seen any problems when we were using coins at Samarkand market in w3.

*edit*
sorry, op, i havent read your first post. im not good at thinking about this kind of stuff

[ScegfOd]

interesting... that would be a new metal sink in the economy...

[Onionfighter]

What's the point? Why do we actually need currency?

[DatOneGuy]

You'd remove most of the value of coins, people could only flood the market but never take anything out. What would they do with those bronze coins? They can't turn them into steeds or anything now.

[novaalpha]

Replicating the irl monetary system ingame is impossible. Emulating it is pointless.