Charlie StrossVerified account

Why does high fantasy have to be arithmetically obtuse? Sure, precious metals as a direct value store / fiat token of exchange is uninspired, uniform denominations is unlikely unless it's a huge, heterogeneous society, and ten fingers isn't a necessity, but decimal works fine...

Base-10 /is/ arithmetically obtuse if you don't have mechanical calculators. Your only prime factors are 2 and 5.

Decimal *is* the obvious system of choice for humans (or, for that matter, other races with human-equivalent hand stuctures). Ancient Egypt and Ancient China did just fine with a pervasive decimal system. It's the Romans and Babylonians who kept insisting on base 12 (resp. 60).

It's obvious, but bad for division. Something that has a not-unpleasant base-10 representation but gets in 3 as a prime factor has value if you don't have lots of paper-equivalent to work with.

...so, basically the Babylonian system? To be honest, the Babylonians didn't really *do* monetary denominations as we know them. They measured in talents/minas/shekels of silver, and of gold, and the exchange rate likely floated over time as sources were discovered or abandoned.

But yeah, an European-esque fantasy counterpart would likely have an Ancient Grome style monetary system. So, lots of 4, 6, 8 and 12. maybe the occasional 10, 20, or an exotic factor. Well, it's typical for pre-medieval Europe(-ish), anyway; post-medieval had more exotic factors.

I note that the above list skipped plain medieval. That's because high medieval European money systems were simple - with rare exceptions (hardly ever used for circulation), everyone was just using the denar/denier/penny, a standard silver coin around the size of a US half dime.

To clarify, this is not *entirely* true - there was also the groschen/grosso/groat, usually standartized at 4d, and the occasional fractions for small change (different ones in different places). And the rare gold, of course (eventually also standartized, as the ducat/florin).

I guess I'm okay then, since my steampunk protagonist is a human with severe emotional issues who's girlfriend is a werecoyote that gets kidnapped by an Egyptian werewolf God. Queen Victoria isn't around and the world is run by lizards from space.

Yep, that works (as long as you manage to avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of imperialism and orientalism/cultural appropriation).

Lol in a rpg campsign I ran in my setting denomiations went 16 copper to a silver and 20 silver to a gold and my players hated it at first but eventually it became a fondly remembered quirk.

You know I’m old enough to remember pre-decimalization British currency, right?

Are you saying that D&D LIED to me?!

*GASP*

* Reclines on throne, stroking baby Mind Flayer thoughtfully ... *

The British system of coinage, in all its bizarre madness (culminating in the farthing), is the primary reason that I refuse to believe that Great Britain is anything other than a particularly intricate long con.

The farthing actually makes sense; the obvious way to make change from pennies is cutting them in half, and then cutting the halves in half. The real madness was the guinea. And the double florin. Or maybe the half crown. Not sure which one was madder.

Whoever came up with the system was spending too much time licking their arsenic wallpaper.

That system predates arsenic wallpaper by several centuries …!

Sure, Charlie. Next you'll be telling me that the British schooling system is a real thing and not an elaborate gag to support the Harry Potter novels.