Re: silver coins

valkoharja says, among may other things:

> A pound of silver (12 lunars) is equal in value to an ounce of gold (a wheel).

I've never liked this approach, largely because I know that the relative value of gold and silver changed radically across history in the real world. In ancient times, gold and silver were often nearly of equal value in the Roman Empire. The discover of metals in Dacia changed that for a while; when Rome lost Dacia, it trended back. The values totally diverged after the discovery of America, where silver was relatively more plentiful, but it swung back a bit during the California gold rush and during the development of large scale gold mining in South Africa. But never to the point of near parity.

Given the fact that parts of Glorantha open up, get closed off, and sink beneath the waves, I would think that the relative values of gold, silver, copper, and even lead would vary significantly over time. Perhaps one of the discomforting facts about big events is that the predictable exchange rates break down. For example, when both Dragon Pass was closed, whatever monetary influence Dara Happa had on the Holy Country vanished. Is that golden (reflecting Dara Happa's heritage) or silver (reflecting the ready availability of silver, which the Lunars later turned into money)? In any case, I could see copper becoming the ordinary currency of Nochet.

Chris Lemens, monetarist             Received on Wed 21 Feb 2007 - 07:31:03 EET