You could easily enough devise multiple coinages of varying weights an measures. But equally, that would mean tracking how much in each coinage type they collected. Tracking the actual value would not be that bad (given a spreadsheet), and you could add a realistic encounter with a money-chnager every time they move from kingdom to kingdom so tehy can have coins the local merchants can accept (without returning to some money changer to give both sides fair value...).
Also, you add "just what are these coins I found in a hoard worth?"
You can add the possibility of melting, alloying, and restriking coins, and trying to pass them off in a foreign kingdom to your adventuring portfolio.
But then the question comes to "is that level of effort worth what it adds to the game?"
And the answer to that is as individual as gaming groups....
Mitch
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> > I always felt it was stretching co-incidence too far that all the silver coins had the same
> > value and weight of silver. I regard it as a RQ game mechanic rather than a reflection of
> > Gloranthan reality so would extend it to other areas with different names.
>
> That is correct. And "ducats" are not the standard coinage of the Middle Sea Empire. I know Greg and I talked about MSE coins, but I recall it being considerably less standardized (with each kingdom and governor coining silver). IRC, the magic of Issaries - even though an inferior and barbarian "god" - was encouraged and used by the MSE to facilitate trade between its diverse lands. As a result, Issaries (in some form or another) could be found in most of the lands that once belonged to the MSE.
>
> Jeff
>