Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 18 Feb 2008 to 22 Feb 2008 (#2008-30) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 23/02/2008, 19:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 2 messages totalling 211 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Mystaran Numismatics - Karameikos 2. Mystaran Numismatics - Darokin ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:45:30 -0500 From: Greg Weatherup Subject: Re: Mystaran Numismatics - Karameikos hmm, that's odd. Seems my reply to dos Santos never went through to the li= st.... Let me try again (a shorter message though this time) Atila- I had replied saying that I really like the connection you made with= the Crown backstory, as well as your discription of early city-state curre= ncy. Since your message I have tried to rework the paragraph covering the = Crown in Karameikos, how does this sound: The =93Crowns=94 (v2): The =93Crown=94, in one form or another, has been a = denomination in Traladara for centuries. As the traladaran city states wer= e beginning to emerge from their dark ages, the neighboring peoples of the = islands of Minrothad were already widespread accomplished traders and some = of the first economic contacts with outsiders were with the traders of Minr= othad, who quickly came to dominate the coastal economy. When the Moneycha= ngers guild was created in AC 493 they copied the Minrothadian Crona (Which= itself comes from the Thyatian word for =93Crown=94) adopting it as the = =93Krona=94 in their language. It has long been produced at high quality/h= igh standards, on the authority of the monechangers guild in Specularuam. = Originally it was a very small, fine hexagonal shaped gold coin. The symbo= lism of the =93Crown=94 and the authority it represents was adopted from th= e =91thadder coin by the oligarchs of the City state since the authority wo= uld figuratively be =93in the hands of the oligarchs=94 since only the weal= thy oligarchs could afford to use a gold coin. Throughout Traladara this = =93Krona=94 was adopted as a standard coin/shape/denomination, becoming cor= rupted to =93Koruna=94 in the greater Halag area and =93Koruna=94 (plural = =3D Kroner) in the Darokinian/Selenican influenced North-East, but the symb= olism was lost and a depiction representing King Halav soon became the norm= , even back within Marlinev. This was also taken to the city-states, other = than Slagovich (See Slagovich), where it became the modern Cronas and Korun= =92s of the City States (See City States). When the Thyatians came into Tr= aladara they not only imported their currency system to operate alongside t= he Traladaran one, they also established the goldsmiths guild with the 902 = AC decree. After 902 the moneychangers guild still had a monopoly on the m= inting of =93crowns=94 (Krona/Koruna/Krone{r}) but they were not permitted = to mint gold coins, so they adopted the current coin, in silver, round, and= larger than the old gold krona/koruna/krone(r), it took some time but even= tually this coin came to be produced to that of the tendrius standard, thus= Karameikos is de-facto on the Tendrius Standard. The Thyatians were happy= to see their new currency order (both the imperial thyatian denominations = and the Guilden/Guilders) supplanted above the old traladaran ways. To ref= lect that it was not exactly equal in value to the old gold coins, and to r= eflect the changing of pronunciations over the centuries, the moneychangers= guild christened this new coin the =93Crona=94 (ironically equal to the or= iginal Minrothad version of the name). Many of the older hexagonal shaped = gold coins depicting king Halav are still in circulation outside of the cap= ital (usually at 5sp in value though even rarer coins of multiple Kroner/Ko= runa are occasionally encountered) but the older ones in Marlinev/Specularu= am have largely been melted and re-used over the span of the last century b= y the goldsmiths guild. The silver Crona usually features buildings and la= ndmarks on them. Greg "Gecko" Weatherup GWxup@excite.com Gecko_G@email.com http://members.fortunecity.com/gecko_g/ --=20 Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com! ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:54:57 -0500 From: Greg Weatherup Subject: Mystaran Numismatics - Darokin Greetings all, ok, here's the first draft of my entry for Darokin. I still need another n= ame idea for the Selenican Concession, I've got it as "Scudi" for right now= but this is just a place holder name. Hope the formatting comes through i= ntact. Darokin was a driving power behind the original Tendrius agreement, but the= republic took no part in the later rounds. Before the unification of the = Republic the various city-states and feudal entities each issued diverse cu= rrencies and the exchange rate between the currencies of say Athenos and Se= lenica, or Akorros and Corunglain, were constantly in flux. Some small coi= ns (or perhaps simply units of account) became common in regional blocks fo= r periods of time (here I am thinking of things like the RW Soldi, Cavalli,= Piccioli, & Grani for small values, Lira, Ducato, Tallero for larger) at a= greeded upon set values, but overtime these also drifted apart, and no one = was ever common threw ought all of Darokin.=20=20 Overtime a fairly common coin in most of the area came to be a small copper= coin called the Passet (any other name suggestions?) but even still there = was no agreement on how many of this states Passets would equal that states= Passets. At unification a new copper coin was agreed upon, the Passem, ba= sed upon the various previous Passets, but larger and set at a new value wh= ich was to be uniform throughout the realm at 60 to a Pound (1cp). The Pas= sem is slightly smaller than most typical coins, but is also slightly thick= er than most. Also agreed upon was a gold coin, the Daro, though the exact= value of the Daro was not set. The Daro started out bigger and of greater= value than the present Daro but since no standard for it was set the coin = became gradually debased and worth different values in different parts of t= he realm. When the merchants realized the negative impact this was having = on the economy, they grudgingly agreed to the need for a central authority = to control the issuance of all currency and thus gave up control to a newle= y established central mint. The Daro thus became set at its current value = of 60 to the pound (96 Grains or 6.4 Scruples). Upon seeing the economic b= enefits of a uniform currency across distances, the impetious for the Tendr= ius agreement was set in motion. As a result of the Tendrius agreement a n= ew silver coin, named the Tendrid for the agreement it was based upon, was = enacted to the specifications of the Tendrius agreement. At unification a = large Gold coin was also called for and was to have been named the =93Eastw= ind=94 but the resulting specifications were so similar to the old Piaster = of ____ (pick one or two of the old sub-states of Darokin) that the name Ea= stwind never stuck and it is now called the Piaster. This is a large Gold = coin cut 15 to the pound (or of 384 Grains or 0.8 ounces or 0.2 Quarters)(w= orth 40sp). Another Denomination is the Silver Half-Daro, a large silver c= oin cut 12 to the pound (1 ounce) which as it name suggests is worth half a= Daro (so 5sp). There is one additional =93standard=94 denomination of the= realm (as defined by the central mint), a but it is not that commonly enco= untered, It was a denomination agreeded to as a compromise concession to Se= lenican interests and is a denomination based on the old Selenican coinage = system. For older coins (say in a treasure horde found by adventurers) I might sugg= est basing its denominations on any currency denominations from the Italian= city states (ie Corun=92s Glenn Ducato anyone?, the predecessor of the Gla= ntrian Ducat).=20=20 The Darokinian coins are so well known and respected for their purity and s= tability that asides from the Scudi (or whatever name we settle upon for th= e Selenican concession) they are generally accepted at face value in southe= rn Glantri (Belcadiz, Blackhill, Caurenze, Erewan, Glantri City, and points= inbetween), Western Ylaruam (in Makistan and any large settlements as far = east as Cinsa-Men-Noo, Ylaruam, & Ctesiphon on the Castellan-Biazzan trade = route), Alfheim Town, The Five Shires, Biazzan, & Castellan. Within Daroki= n Selenican merchants and business are familiar with Karameikan currency, T= hyatian Imperial, Dengar (Dwarven), & central Ylari currency systems. In A= thenos one can usually get by with Ierendian currency. Shire currency can = be used in Mar, Hinmeet, and Athenos. Thadder currency can be used in Athe= nos and Tenobar, if you are discreet. Depictions: The Daro features a generic portrait representing an average da= rokinian male (=93Brotherhood=94) usually depicted wearing a crown (so that= all darokinians are seen as having the =93Liberty=94 of a king), the rever= se features scales, originally a symbol to signify its worth, now meant as = =93Equality=94 (RW inspiration: French coins inscribed with the republic tr= iad =93Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite=94 for =93Liberty, Equality, Fraternity= =94). The Half-Daro similarly has a generic portrait representing an avera= ge darokinian woman, wearing a coronet, but the reverse usually features fa= mous buildings and landmarks of the republic. The Tendrid is used to honor= historically significant figures (ie past kings and hero=92s) while the re= verse features depictions representing the republics agricultural wealth. = The Passem changes relatively frequently featuring different aspects that m= ake Darokin what it is. The most recent Passem design does not have a head= nor bust, but on the obverse honors the merchants of darokin with a depict= ion of a cart representing the merchants hauling goods across Brun, while t= he reverse, showing a fish and a boat on water represents the fishermen of = lake Amsorak. The Piaster has a depiction of two shaking hands (RW inspira= tion: American peace medals, also recently used on a commemorative circulat= ing nickel) featuring Darokin & Alfheim=92s friendship, while the reverse h= as a geometric or floral design (?). The Scudi (or whatever name), like th= e Tendrid, is supposed to be used to honor historically significant persons= , but the designs usually tend to focus on people significant to specifical= ly Selenica=92s history and has even (scandalously) depicted recently decea= sed people from Selenica. Anepigraphic option: The opinion of whether or not =93Darokinian=94 is a se= parate language or is simply a dialect of Thyatian has in the past been a p= oint of disagreement on the MML. Further, the existence of a unique dialec= t in Selenica is also disputed. I am of the opinion that Darokinian, while= influenced by Thyatian, is distinct, and that there is a notable Selenican= dialect difference. IF you are of the same opinion then the linguistic di= sagreements within the republic meant that when the various denominations g= et designed they are specifically designed without any writing (anepigraphi= c) so as not to seem to be favoring one dialect or forcing one spelling on = all. Summation: Denomination Value Weight Notes Copper Passem 1cp 60/lb Standardized by law, on the small side but thick= er than average Silver Tendrid 1sp 60/lb Tendrius system Silver Half-Daro 5sp 12/lb Large Gold Daro 10sp 60/lb Small & Light Gold Scudi (name?) 20sp? 30/lb? Based on Old Selenican coin, rare Gold Piaster 40sp 15/lb Large, incommon with Alfheim 1 Daro=3D10 Tendrids=3D100 Passems=3D1/4 Piaster well, that's what I got so far. What do you think? Suggestions VERY welco= me. Gecko Greg Weatherup GWxup@excite.com Gecko_G@email.com --=20 Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com! ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 18 Feb 2008 to 22 Feb 2008 (#2008-30) ***************************************************************