Using Coin Shapes and Other Features to Tell Stories About Your Fantasy Currency
Coin is a digital asset that functions as money in a blockchain-based economic system. Unlike tokens, coins operate on their own native blockchain and can be created through mining. They can also be used as a medium of exchange in other blockchain-based systems. They can have many other uses, including lending and investing.
In all ages and civilizations, coins have been prized, often hoarded, and frequently buried for safety. They have a great potential to tell stories about past societies, revealing both the material wealth and the commercial connections of cities and regions. As a result, they have always been an important source of historical information, often providing evidence that goes beyond what is available in written records.
The common names of a nation’s or kingdom’s coins can reveal something about its people, their priorities and values. For example, a tyrannical king might plaster his face on every coin in his kingdom, and thus be known as “Bull George.”
On the other hand, an unruly or even hostile city might put its most valued god or goddess on its coins, earning it the name “God’s Dollar” or “King’s Dirt.” In general, however, a coin’s value is derived from the metal it’s made from, whether that’s gold, silver, copper, or any of the more common alloys. Its beauty, specific historical significance, rarity, and the overall popularity of its design with collectors can also contribute to a coin’s worth.
A coin’s shape can also add to its interest, giving you a whole lot of possibilities for unique details in your world’s currency. Are some of your kingdom’s coins round, while others are octagonal? Maybe some have a knight on them, while others depict ships. In fact, a ship-shaped coin might actually be called a gallant, errant, frigate, barge, brigantine, clipper, or xebec depending on your setting’s vocabulary.
So the next time you’re working on your fantasy world’s currency, don’t be afraid to bust out the thesaurus. Think about the shapes and other features of your coins to find creative, fun, or intriguing ways to give them common names that tell a story. You might just end up creating some real treasure.