Primitive currency
From MegaTravellerWiki
Goods, in general, are priced according to their equivalent worth in raw materials. In primitive times, since life was not decadent enough to allow anyone but the very rich and powerful to employ others, the majority of industry was done through personal labour and the medium of exchange was barter.
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Primitive trade
Before the advent of currency, all exchanges are done in barter. There are no central authorities by which to handle currencies.
Imperial currency
Most currencies in Imperial societies are backed in gold, a heavy metal produced in cosmic reactions which is prized for its rarity and beauty. Because of the locality of these reactions, gold's pervasiveness varies widely and it may in fact be considered a less-valued metal in some worlds.
When the value of a credit approaches critically high levels relative to a person's cost of living, it is often broken apart into a baser currency, usually known as the solidus, itself broken into the denarius (with local variations on the names, such as shilling and penny).
| 1 Credit = 12 solidi = 240 denarii |
|---|
| 1/12 Credit = 1 solidus = 20 denarii |
| 1/240 Credit = 1/20 solidus = 1 denarius |
| Denomination | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Credit | Cr |
| Credit Solidus | cs |
| Credit Denarius | cd |
Bank notes
Banks are institutions devoted to providing loans, insurance, and other similar financial services, generally to businesses. Banks may also provide "letters of tender" for sale; in exchange for a specific amount of currency as well as the broker fee, a person may purchase a letter to tender that amount of currency in the bank's care. Later, the person or its bearer may exchange the writ for the amount of currency written on the notice at any later date.
Though not required to do so, many merchants will accept letters of tender at face value if drawn upon a reputable bank.
Industrial currency
Upon achieving the industrial era of technological (and mathematical) development, decimal currency begins to appear as it is easier to account, with the Credit and the Credit Cent as the fundamental units. To prevent having to carry excessively large amounts of elements of Credit Cents to handle fractional values, intermediary denominations are also produced; the quarter, the dime, and the vint.
| 1 Credit = 4 quarters = 10 dimes = 20 vints = 100 cents |
|---|
| 1/4 Credit = 1 quarter = 21/2 dimes = 5 vints = 25 cents |
| 1/10 Credit = 2/5 quarter = 1 dime = 2 vints = 10 cents |
| 1/20 Credit = 1/5 quarter = 1/2 dime = 1 vint = 5 cents |
| 1/100 Credit = 1/25 quarter = 1/10 dime = 1/5 vint = 1 cent |
| Denomination | Abbr. |
|---|---|
| Credit | Cr |
| Credit Quarter | cq |
| Credit Dime | cd |
| Credit Vint | cv |
| Credit Cent | cc |
Legal notes
Due to the increasing popularity of notes, it is a staple to have a government bank that produces its own notes of tender, instead of allowing private establishments to perform this; due to the increasing ability to counterfeit it is now illegal for banks to issue their own notes in exchange for currency, and illegal for merchants to accept any notes other than those of the government bank. This produces the concept of "legal tender".
Early Stellar currency
As microtransactions and physical currency transport costs begin to bog down the financial system, the next resort is to phase out cents, quarters, and vints in favour of the dime. A price is rounded to the nearest value in dimes, with median fractions rounded in favour of the buyer. For instance, 1.55 Cr is rounded to 1 Cr 5 cd, not to 1 Cr 6 cd.
| 1 Credit = 10 dimes |
|---|
| 1/10 Credit = 1 dime |
| Denomination | Abbr. |
|---|---|
| Credit | Cr |
| Credit Dime | cd |
Average Stellar
In eras above the average stellar era, microtransactions become considered moot and most transactions are rounded to the nearest whole number of Cr, with fractions rounded in favour of the buyer. For instance, 1.50 Cr rounds down to 1 Cr, though 1.51 Cr rounds to 2 Cr. Products worth fractions of a Credit are typically sold in bulk, or are offered as simple gratuities to consumers in the event of a microtransaction order (e.g., if a consumer requires three nails to repair a wooden chair, the nails would be offered for free—in the hopes that the consumer will come back for a hammer).
