The standard currency is that of the old Lormyrrian Empire, itself the product of those traditions of the ancient Besanni races. Thus, nearly all the nations of the Three Lands have adopted currencies quite similar to one another. Non-Besanni nations on the fringe of the Three Lands have also come to accept these common usages. More importantly, the standards of weight and purity once upheld by the Empire have remained largely intact. As sufficient quantities of valuable metals are to be found throughout nearly every region of the Three Lands, there has been little need to debase currency. The rare efforts to do so in one state or region have always had a strong negative impact on trade and commerce in those places, thus deterring rulers from taking such actions. This has ensured that the coinage of one region has usually been readily exchangeable in other regions. Still, many realms require foreign coinage to be exchanged for local currency (at a discount, of course) in order to ensure the purity of those coins in circulation. The standard coin size is ½ inch in diameter and 1/16 inch in width (similar to a penny), which typically weigh about 1/100th of a pound.
Common Names[1]
| Bronze | BP | Small Penny | Slugs |
| Copper | CP | Pence | Browns |
| Silver | SP | Mark | Coins |
| Electrum | EP | Noble | Greats[2] |
| Gold | GP | Royal | Yellows |
| Platinum | PP | Crowns | Shinys |
| Mithril | MP | Royal Silver Mark |
Relative Values
| 10 Bronze (BP) | 1 Copper |
| 10 Copper (CP) | 1 Silver |
| 10 Silver (SP) | 1 Electrum |
| 2 Electrum (EP) | 1 Gold |
| 5 Gold (GP) | 1 Platinum |
| 8 Platinum (PP) | 1 Mithril |
1 Platinum = 5 Gold = 10 Electrum = 100 Silver = 1000 Copper = 10000 Bronze
The most common metal of exchange in the Three Lands is silver, with copper and gold common to somewhat lesser degrees. Electrum is rare but accepted in most places. Many older realms used bronze, but these coins fell out of favor a few centuries past. Other coin is mostly reserved for the middle and upper classes. Gold is highly prized. Mithril coins are primarily of Dwarven origin; they are used by them to transfer large wealth easily rather than for mere pocket money. Rumor has it that, in some states, the very rich use adamantine pieces worth several mithril pieces, but such coins would be so rare as to be not worth bothering with.
Player characters start with money per normal rules, except that the amount rolled is in silver Marks (SP) rather than gold (GP). Prices may converted to this system as follows:
1 Silver Mark (SP) = 1 standard gold piece (GP)
1 Copper Pence (CP) = 2 standard silver pieces (SP)
1 Bronze Penny (BP) = 2 standard copper (CP)
For ease in buying, players may outfit themselves as normal. Then, any remaining funds are converted as above. Due to the importance of trade, most realms will accept foreign coinage, provided that the size of the coins is close to the domestic coins. Of note, ancient deposits of treasure may contain other sized coins, in which case the weight of the metal is considered, as well as its quality.
Exchange Value
|
Coin |
BP |
CP |
SP |
EP |
GP |
PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze Piece (BP) |
1 |
1/10 |
1/100 |
1/1000 |
1/2000 |
1/10000 |
| Copper Piece (CP) |
10 |
1 |
1/10 |
1/100 |
1/200 |
1/1000 |
| Silver Piece (SP) |
100 |
10 |
1 |
1/10 |
1/20 |
1/100 |
| Electrum Piece (EP) |
1000 |
100 |
10 |
1 |
½ |
1/10 |
| Gold Piece (GP) |
2000 |
200 |
20 |
2 |
1 |
1/5 |
| Platinum Piece (PP) |
10000 |
1000 |
100 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
[1] These are the traditional names (and nicknames) for coins in the lands of the old Lormyrrian Empire. While they are known beyond those ancient bounds, many states have their own names and/or nicknames for these coins, which may further be modified by regional usages.
[2] Short for “Great Silvers”