:: Black Market Gold News ::

:: Friday, May 31, 2002 ::

Diamonds For Guns.

"It is common knowledge they (the rebels) have been mining diamonds," said the Sierra Leone agent. "The way we agents see it, the diamonds seem to be providing the means of buying the arms."

"Diamonds have a great value," said a spectator. "Even one diamond can buy several weapons."


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Afghan Mercenaries Were Paid In REAL Money.

Picture the scene. It's mid-January in the freezing mountains of Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden is holed up in the Tora Bora cave complex. US and British forces are preparing to go in for the kill with their bearded chums in the Northern Alliance. But the Afghans [Northern Alliance] won't budge. They want to be paid. In vain they are tempted with paper money. Dollars? Pounds? Or, in desperation, euros?

According to a well-informed report in The Spectator magazine at the time, not until some nice heavy glinting gold bars had been flown up, would the Northern Alliance so much as raise a Kalashnikov in the fight against global terrorism. After all, any old warlord can print money.


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Gold Regains Lustre Amid The War Clouds.

As war clouds gathered over India and Pakistan, there was a golden lining for bullion prices as institutional investors bought gold while India's average rickshaw-wallah cashed in by selling the family jewellery.


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In Gold We Trust.

e-gold's appeal? "Fundamentals," says Ray. For online consumers, especially those making international purchases, e-gold offers an ease of use and a degree of anonymity that credit cards can't match. And for some merchants, of course, the only selling point e-gold needs is that there are people who want to spend it. After a German customer inquired about e-gold, Vince Lee, president of TealPoint Software, added the payment option. "It's not a big part of our business," admits Lee, whose company is probably the largest of the couple hundred mostly mom-and-pop operations that take e-gold online. "But in this climate, you can't really afford to turn any customers away."


:: Black Leprecon :: goldlink ::
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Coin of the Realm.

"That will be two pennies to enter the city, good sir," said the young man gaurding the gates. I handed him my last coin, a tiny half-mark, then tucked away my change.

Older coins turn up occasionally in treasure troves. These are often marked with a crowned woman's likeness, with a fist grasping lightning opposite.

"Where is the closest garrison?" I asked. With his reply, I pulled my handcart through the Eastern Arch and into Haven.

Many old coins also bear a ruler's likeness. These "Old Crowns" are rare coins, and are often a bit larger and of higher purity. Thus they are worth more by half (15sp).

Before the sergeant of the garrison, I threw back the tarp over the bed of my cart. The sergeant grunted his acceptance, and two peasants drug away the cart to dispose of the bandits' bodies.

There is also the curious "Half-Mark": an old coin about half the standard size and worth half as much (5cp). These usually bear the watchtower and upheld swords of the High Men.

Holding out my hand, the sergeant pressed two gold crowns and a platinum dragon into my palm. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of a roof and a warm meal as I walked away.

"What about your cart?" called the sergeant.

The Goblins are rumored to mint coins as well but these are merely re-strikes of old coins or coins stolen from the Settled Lands. The Goblins horned deity figures prominently upon all of their coins opposite his black mountain stronghold.

Men in primitive fishing villages also use tokens of ivory, harvested from walrus and whale, and of jade, taken from the sea. They usually carve their coin tokens with designs of intricate knots or scenes from their life style. They also use pearls as coin, but these are much more rare and valuable.

Trade Bars are also used as bulk currency, normally for ease of transport or for large trades of goods. Most merchant houses mark their trade bars with a house stamp or seal. An assayer, appointed by the King, cuts a notch in one end of the bar to verify that it is pure throughout, then stamps the bar with his mark certifying its weight and purity. The notch, or bite becomes the Assayers fee. Trade bars are typically of 10#, and are usually silver.

It is a simple matter to name the coins, but how to you get the players to use those coin names? One simple way is for you to start using the coin names. Once you are in the habit, I'm sure your players will soon follow your example.

"Keep it!" I shouted back to him.

Gold pieces, silver pieces, copper pieces- the same in every game. Not much campaign flavor in that! Give your coins a grand name to reflect the grandness of the treasure troves they adorn. Even the coins of today have names; the Looney (the Canadian golden dollar), the "walking liberty" dollar, or the "Suzy B's", and the "golden eagles" of yesteryear.

Here are the coins that I use in my own game, as well as some background about them...

Platinum Pieces: "Dragons". Platinum Dragons are rare, being used only by the most wealthy or ostentatious. They are stamped with the image of The Dragon on one side and the Fae Queen on the other.

Gold Pieces: "Crowns". Gold Crowns are the coin of the wealthy, merchants, and adventurers. They are currently minted by many of the civilized races, and usually bear the image of their Kings (or Queens), with a crown opposite.

Silver Pieces: "Marks". Silver Marks are the coin of the common folk and are minted by all of the civilized races. Each race's coins bear their own particular "mark". Dwarven coins bear a mountain and the crossed musket-and-axe symbol of their royal house opposite. Elven coins show the valley at Mar Amrûn and the stars-and-tree symbol of their royal house opposite. The coins of men have the 7-ships crest with a towered city opposite.

Copper Pieces: "Pennies". Most of the coins in circulation are old coin, taken from hidden caches and returned to circulation. The features of most old coins have been worn away, but some remain intact and bear a farmstead opposite a sheaf of grain.

Electrum Pieces: "Lucky". Electrum is not currently minted, and all coins are from the time of the High Men. They are rare, but still turn up occasionally. They are said to bring luck and are often carried by superstitious folk for just that reason. They all bear a sun with a moon opposite.


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