August 10, 2024
Creating a currency might seem difficult, but it does not have to be. In this post I will help guide you along the path of creating your own fantasy currency, while also showing some historical examples from around the world.
Trade Instead of Physical Currency
While it might seem strange to some today, money was not the only thing you could use as payment. For example, in some places you could pay your taxes, work, or rent in: salt, eels, beer, saffron, or even urine. Work was also a currency; for example, if you wanted to use someone’s flour mill, you might have to work the owners field as payment.
The Roman Legions sometimes also used salt as currency. Due to the high value of salt, an ancient Roman proverb said that people who did their job well were “worth their salt.” (Or “worth their weight in salt.”
Ancient Origins
The more isolated an area, the more likely it is that they will mostly or wholly use trade as their economy.
PART 1: The Details
Increments:
Technically, all you need is one coin. For example, in America you can buy anything with enough pennies(one cent); anything at all. It is the lowest increment of money they have, and technically all you need. Of course the problem is that the more expensive the item, the more inconvenient that would be. Could you imagine trying to bring enough pennies to buy a car or house?
So for the sake of convenience, other levels of money are added, such as 100 pennies equaling to a dollar. Commonly in money, single digit numbers are used for small-value currency (such as 1 cent and one dollar or 5 cents and 5 dollars), then once you get to higher levels of currency, everything is in increments of 10’s (such as 10 dollar bills, 50 dollar bills, and so on).
As well as all I mentioned, it is also worth noting that the higher you go, the harder it is for the average person to get their hands on. For example, it was not until I was working the cash register as an adult that I saw my first $100 bill.
For your own currency, start with the absolute lowest number, then decide how many more official levels you would like. In medieval England, there were13 coin types.
Names:
Rather than just calling something by their number value, many places also come up with names for them as well. For example, 25 cents in Canadian coins are called “quarters,” 10 cents are called “dimes,” and 5 cents are called “nickles.”
Slang Terms(Optional):
As if having the number value and the names are not enough for people, some places also have slang terms for their money. For example, some places base their names off of the color (such as a red 20-dollar note being called a lobster), while others might have names based off the imagery on said currency.
Area’s of Use:
Just like how you could get a coin from a different country and know it is not from your own, that also occurred in history. It is important to know what areas had what currency, and also what areas would accept other types of currency.
Your currency from your one kingdom might not be worth anything to a neighboring one. In fact, if your two kingdoms are enemies, carrying your own currency in their kingdom could put you at risk.
Sometimes, currency is more local. For example, in an isolated fishing community, the locals might still use shell coins despite the capital city of their kingdom using metal coins. This is simply because they have no one making metal coins for their small community, so they have no use for them. However, this also means that if any of them were to want to visit the city, they would need to find a way to get the correct currency.
PART 2: Appearance
Material:
Commonly for currency, you would try to pick a material that is hard for the average person to easily get their hands on. This is mostly to make it so not everyone can simply create their own money, and because rare things tend to hold more value to people. For example, gold is not easy for the average person to find, so it is still used as a currency today under the free-market system.
However, your currency can be made out of absolutely any material you prefer. In history, leather, shells, clay tokens, wooden tokens and tally’s, and metal coins, have all been used.
“Shell money is a form of currency that was used in various parts of the world, including Asia, Africa, and Oceania. This type of money makes use of a type of marine snail known as cowrie and therefore is known also as cowrie shell money. In some parts of the world shell money served as currency up until the 19th/20th century.”
Ancient Origins
Imagery:
You can really have anything you want on a coin. For example, the Canadian loonie literally has a loon on one side, and the English monarch on the other. Almost all of the other coins also sport various animals, and Canada isn’t the only place that opted for animals. There was a celtic coin with a horse, a greek coin with a crab, and a roman coin with an elephant.
Sometimes the imagery was a symbol that meant a lot to the locals(such as the ruling person, a deity, mythological creature, or another symbol with deep meaning to the locals), while other times it could be just what the area is most known for. For example, a coin with a wheat stalk for an agriculture region.
Shape and Size of Currency:
If all your coins are made out of the same material, currency size would likely dictate the increment of value; such as smaller coins being worth less than bigger coins. This is due to judging the value based on the the amount of the material there, which can sometimes confirmed by weight.
Other times, the shape may be for convenience; such as a bead or a coin with a hole so you can keep them together on a string, or having flat coins for easy stacking.
However, coins can come in any shape you wish; such as the shape of an animal, a spade, or even a knife. While there have been some rather awkwardly shaped coins in history, I do suggest keeping them somewhat small for ease of carrying.
The front and back of one of the distinctive Olbia dolphin coins made from bronze. (Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. / CC BY-SA 3.0)
Free Generators
If, after all this, you are still completely lost on where to start, there are free money generators you can try.
I’m Briar Crawford, a wordsmith on a quest to weave tales that transport readers to fantastical realms. Through my blog, I share the insights and resources I gather along my writing journey, hoping to aid fellow scribes.
