>
> I don't believe there's a single standardized weight of silver coins
at all.
> Rather, the "penny" is a game mechanic, representing a rough amount
of moneys
> worth, in silver. It's not even a specific weight of silver, since
different coinages
> are unequally diluted. (So, negoitiating the actual value of whats
in a purse would
> probably be an intrinsic part of bargaining, whenever silver is used
as means of
> payment.)
> Of course, lunar administration as well as royal sartar households,
and everyone
> else that turns out all these pennies, stars, lunars and so on, they
all would claim
> that their currency is pure silver, absolutely reliable, uncuttable
and tamper-proof.
> But in my Glorantha, the only money that actually is like that, is
the wheel. That's
> what why Lokarnos is the solar god of trade. Because of him, society
has a
> universally reliable and fixed currency. And that's why they are the
ones with an
> empire.
> Dan Guillou
>
I've taken a different approach.
The word penny, comes from pennyweight. It's 1,5555 grams of silver
(not defined like that originally, obviously). 20 pennies make an ounce.
In my game I use money like this:
pennies are the smallest unit usually. They can be broken up to form
half and quarter pennies. Usually a pennyweight of silver, but can
also be a larger coin of copper.
20 pennies equal one larger (troy ounce) silver coin. This can be
called a thaler, a lunar or any other.
12 thalers add up to a (troy) pound of silver.
A gold wheel is an ounce of gold. A pound of silver (12 lunars) is
equal in value to an ounce of gold (a wheel).
***
There are good sources out there for historical buying power. I vastly
prefer a world where a silver penny is real money (get's you a meal at
an inn, or buys an unskilled worker for a day), to the RPG standard
where you need a gold coin to buy beer.