Common Culture in Adel: Economy

The use of money has gained a lot of traction since the early period of Adel’s history. While rural villages still operate mostly on the exchange of services, hard goods and valuable proxy currency, everyone has some coin on them nonetheless. Particularly so for villages that are close to trade routes and important towns and cities, and so become routine stops for merchants, holiday travelers and explorers. Villagers from such areas are even more likely to be versed in the use of coin. In towns and cities the exchange of coin for goods and services is the primary economic mode.

Currencies

Adel has some standard currencies used in every nation. Historically, they were known by different names and had different images, but because the process of minting and the material in the coins was mostly the same, old coins have just been adopted into the new model. Each of the coins represents one of the four sacred animal clans.

Copper Turtle: The most common coin and used in almost all transactions is the Copper Turtle. Its face is that of the sacred boss of the turtle clans, the turtle spirit Genbu. The back is an image a hand with grains of amaranth upon its palm, since the copper turtle is mostly used in common transactions like buying food. Even the least world-aware villagers in the world have a handful of turtles to their name. Common pre-Turtle copper coins often depicted folk heroes in the front.

Silver Tiger: One of the first coins to be established. The face has the boss of the sacred tiger clan, Byakko the tiger spirit. The back of the coin is a merchant ship sailing a branch of the Meridian river-sea, with land to each side. It is not exactly a rare coin, but is less common than the Copper Turtle. Each is worth 2 copper turtles. A silver tiger is not purely made of silver. Common pre-Tiger silver coins depicted monarchs, fortresses, blades and other military accoutrements.

Gold Dragon: The newest coin. Before the use of Gold Dragons, there existed no actual gold coins, and most gold was kept in bars. Like Silver Tigers, Gold Dragons are not entirely gold. Gold Dragons are used for increased portability in large business transactions. Gold Dragons are worth as much as 10 copper turtles or 5 silver tigers. The sacred wyvern Seiryuu, boss of the wyverns, was chosen as the face, while the back is the continent of Adel in miniature.

Platinum Phoenix: The rarest coin and no longer minted. It was one of the first coins minted for the new money system. Its value fluctuates, because of certain controversies surrounding its creation. Each coin might be pure or some mishmash of ores. Platinum Phoenix coins must be taken to an appraiser who is well-versed on determining their value by the symbols denoting the time and place of mint, and the appraiser must write a note as to the true value of the coin. The note and the coin must both be given when making a transaction to insure everything is fair. Phoenixes might be worth anywhere from 20 copper turtles to 20 gold dragons. The face is Suzaku, the boss of the phoenix clan, while the back varies wildly, from small, hard-to-read haikus to mere statements of mint location and issue numbers. Plenty of scams involve phoenix coins.

Jewel Shells: The first currency of Adel during the tribal periods, jewel shells could be collected from rivers and beaches. Shellfish left these behind and their beauty and relatively stable population gave them value. Jewel shells are still used and accepted in certain areas, at a value equal to that of a Silver Tiger. In modern cities they are not accepted, but one can look for a jeweler who will exchange the shells for currency, though at a small price to his/her advantage.

Precious items: Barter is alive and well in Adel still. Shops will exchange items for other items, or for currency, at a rate advantageous to them. Precious jewels and ores can be sold to the proper people for coin – a Diamond can be worth anywhere from 100 to 1000 copper turtles depending on the size, condition, cut and other factors. Rare food, animal pelts, strange plants and other items of flora and fauna can sell excellently to the proper buyer, though the quest to collect them may be incredibly dangerous depending on what creature or plant is being procured. Artifacts from ancient ruins, ranging from simple things like scrolls and pottery to strange magical weapons and unknown items, can fetch high prices if sold to archeological societies, and decent prices (for junk found on the ground anyway) from collectors.

Banking

Only major cities have actual banks, tied to the national treasury. The treasury accepts money to hold for others, but the money cannot be easily retrieved. There are numerous restrictions and run-arounds to suffer for retrieving treasury money. However, the treasury promises a monthly interest gain for the owner, growing the savings over time, in exchange for the government having access to the money if needed. Having your savings with the government also gives a tax break, which is practically the only tax break that exists in Adel, where most nations are serious about taxation. The treasury issues notes, but the notes only change money from one treasury account to another account in the same treasury.

Most people have to keep their own money since it is geographically unfeasible for them to travel for banking. More than once has there been an adventurous tale of a youth having discovered he or she has a large fortune in a bank that has to be claimed within a certain time. Even banking offers Adelians a chance to write some grandiose hero story.

There is no religious ban on usury in Adel so loans and interest are an active enterprise. Small businesses can offer small loans to good customers for certain needs. Organizations and individuals also give loans to people who can’t get them, particularly groups active in the black market for magical equipment. The treasury offers loans but are very selective to whom they give money – not just any peasant can get one. For informal loans such as those given at small town shops, interest rates will vary by negotiation and the whims of the lender. There are various tales of spirits of currency cursing those who don’t pay their loans, but these tales can go unheeded. When superstition fails to gain payment, violence probably will.

National Trade

Private merchants have made a good business of traveling to neighboring lands with goods not found there, selling them at a profit and returning home for more. The goods are worth more in the neighboring land than in their common locality. So long as large enough amounts can be procured to pay for the trip and score a profit above that, the merchants will travel. Merchants often gather villagers and peasants down on their luck and pay them as a caravan guard, or to do the labor of packing and unpacking and setting up the market spaces. The pay is not great, but it is better than they’d make, and the experience of traveling to a foreign land in the company of wealthy, respectable persons is in itself a reward.

National Governments also trade with each other on an official capacity – the government will for example pay villages and farms for crops which they will gather and trade internationally for other crops and goods. Commonly, governments also pay each other money for goods, exchanging coffers of coin for tons of ore or weaponry. Andaliel and Vedaria are the chief exporters of common firearms, while Sargasso and Periterim have carved a niche in technological wonders such as rare angelic-steel weapons or uncommon vehicles such as golem engines and flying ships. Andaliel and Emderuer are the chief agricultural export powers, though every single nation has a strong agriculture and can be self-sufficient should the need arise.