Silver Coins

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_quicksilver.net.nz>
Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:34:06 +1300

David Dunham:

>Does anyone know what different regions call a standard silver coin
>(a Lunar in Peloria, and in my game a danar in Safelster)?

          Silver Coinage was first introduced into Glorantha by the Lunar
          Empire.  The generic terms for silver coins used all over the
          continent is the Lunar, in honor of the Lunar Empire.  However
          in the empire, the basic silver coin is referred to as an Imperial.
          In Sartar, it is called a Sovereign, and in the City of Corflu, run
          by various guilds, it is called a Guilder.
                  RQ2 p5.

Personally I think the stated implication that the Lunar Empire introduced silver coinage circa 1220 ST rather odd considering the existence of vast empires in the Imperial Age and so would interpret this statement as referring to the Lunar Empire of the Flood Period, (the Isle of Dosvolos, Arcane Lore p18). TLH has a similar paragraph which does not claim that the current Lunar Empire invented silver coinage.

Furthermore Corflu being controlled by Guilds? Obviously a reference to the Imperial Age settlement and so one can infer that Guilders is a western reference. Another western name might be silver pennies and I suppose one could also use thalers.

Safelster's silver coinage would be both modern (ie Guilders) and retrogade to the good old days of the Autarchy. Although florins is attractive, its origin is the medievalf Florence which poses a problem in several ways. Hence I think Argents is more evocative in that it not only means silver but has some similarities to Arkat's name.

Looking further afield:

Kralorela has a problem for translation in that the common chinese word for coinage is "cash". I used groats in the Glorantha: Intro but that's used in the sense of cheap change rather than an indication that the Kralori actually have a coin called a groat. Hence I think their silver currency would be either ounces of silver (when it isn't traded as banknotes).

One could always use dinars for Fonrit's silver coinage but one might also try seseines, which suggests the corrupting influence of money.

--Peter Metcalfe

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