Money in Middle-Earth

In Middle-earth several different currencies are in use. Cultures who do not use coins, trade in goods but often use metal bars as a substitute.In fact the first coinage was invented by the Dwarves and originally developed out of very small, elaborate shaped, metal bars and later Medals and Amulets originally given away as Tokens.
This assumption is based on the hypothesis that Middle-Earth’s Currency or Money-system is based on the real world currency of medieval and late roman Britain :
- 1 fourpenny (silver) and similar coins (Kreuzer, Groten, Witten, Stüber etc.) = 4 pence
- 1 denarius (silver) = 1 penny (silver) = 4 farthings or sestertii (bronze/brass)
- 1 sestertius = 4 asses (bronze/copper)
- 1 as = 4 quadrans (copper « quarters »)
Other medieval currencies
- 1 carolingian pound (silver) = 240 denarii or pence
- 1 pound = 20 shillings
- 1 mark = 13 shillings and 4 ducats
- 1 ducat = 9 shillings and 4 pence
- 1 crown = 5 shillings
- 1 shilling = 12 pence
- 1 heller (copper coin) = 2 pence
Arnor and Gondor
The Kingdom of Gondor and most of the former provinces of Arnor preserve the ancient Númenorean currency :
- double-dragon or ducat — gold coin of the highest value (approx. 0,16 ounces gold)
- mirian = gold coin (approx.0,04 ounces gold)
- castar (or canath) = silvercoin, 1 quarter of a mirian (approx.0,01 ounces gold)
- tharni or silver farthing = 1 quarter of a castar (0,28 ouces silver)
- silver penny (approx. 0,07 ounces silver)
- brass coins (brasslings) = 1/4 silver penny (approx. 1 ounce brass)
- copper coins (copperlings) (approx. 0,28 ounces copper)
In times of need the Lords of the Westlands also often introduced necessity money, made of tin (often 1 ounce tin), lead (often 0,01 ounces lead) or zinc (0,12 ounces zinc). For small bargains people also often cutted greater coins into pieces and paid with hack-silver or even hack-copper. As everywhere purity and worth of the different coins could differ significant throughout the ages.
- tin-coins = approx. 2 tharni
- zinc-coins = approx. 1/2 copperling
- lead coins = approx. 1/16 copperling
Northmen of Rhovanion
The Northrons rely mostly on simple barter trade, but some more influential northron Lords, as the Kings of Dale have also begun to emit coins, mostly imitations of gondorian exemplars.
Rohan
The Rohirrim use gondorian currency as well as their own Penning-coin.
- penning = 1 silver penny (approx. 0,07 ounces silver)
Dorwinion
The Dorwinrim use gondorian currency as well as their own high-value ivory-coin, the Kysûri.
- kysûri = 2 tharni
Harad
The Haradrim use their own currency of Harmîr or gold- and bronce-rings as well as Shell-money (sea-shells, often in the form of necklaces).A few of the former black númenórean Colonies and former gondorian puppet-rulers have also preserved coinage (mostly imitations of Númenórean mint).The best known Haradrim-coinage are those from Tûl Isra and Tûl Harar.
Tûl Isra Coins
- 1 saris (silver) = 10 sort
- 1 sort (bronze) = 10 garn
- 1 garn (copper) = 1 northern copper-penny
Tûl Harar Coins
- 1 kesh (gold) = 5 ged
- 1 ged (jade) = 20 kos
- 1 kos (silver) = 10 sort
- 1 sort (bronze) = 10 garn
- 1 garn (copper) = 1 northern copper-penny
The Dark Lands
The Dark Lord has imitated númenórean coinage for a long time and emitted his own currency among his vassal-kings, but most Men of Darkness still rely on simple barter trade.
Fichiers
Pour les fichiers .markdown, préférer un clic droit et sélectionner
« Enregistrer le lien sous... »