A few days ago, I posted about an essay on the worth of money in a fantasy setting. Jonny mostly wrote about what you could buy with a dollar if you’d suddenly been teleported to the City of Greyhawk. I’m more concerned with what you can actually buy for a gold (or a crown in Valiant terms) and how realistic fantasy game pricing is for my game. See this post about money in Kynafir for some background on local coinage.
Almost everyone deals in copper pennies or silvers for commerce. Swords and crowns are just not very common. But a penny might be in circulation for decades, it’s value dropping as people shave it or it wears down. Debased currency is extremely common and part of the Trading skill is knowing the real worth of the coin you carry.
The true value of coins can be determined by weight. All newly minted coin is 1/10th of a pound and as it wears down or is otherwise debased, the weight will drop. On average, real coins in circulation will weigh in at 12 to a pound instead of 10. (For those interested in history, notice 12 shillings to an English pound. This may be coincidence but maybe not.)
In the meantime, here are some average prices and wages in Kyanfir:
an ox 2 swords bacon hog 6 silver a sheep 2 silver a goose 3 pennies a duck 1 penny 10 eggs 1 penny wheat, per bushel 2 swords apples, per bushel 5 swords onions, per bushel 1 sword loaf of bread 1 penny pint gin 1 penny 2 pounds soap 3 pennies quart of beer 4 pennies pound of cheese 5 pennies pound of butter 1 silver dozen oranges 1 silver 1 pound perfume soap 1 silver 1 room, 1 week 2 silver 1 pound candles 3 silver barrel of oysters 4 silver bottle of claret 5 silver pair of shoes 7 silver bottle of champagne 8 silver yard of lace 1 sword pair of breeches 2 swords anvil 2 swords silver watch 1 crown book, 100 pages 10 crowns bonzai tree 20 crowns craftsman, per day 4 pennies housemaid, per year 5 swords laborer, per day 1 silver cook, per year 5 crowns gardener, per yr 9 crowns warhorse 80 crowns riding horse 10 crowns plate mail 16 crowns fancy plate, graven 340 crowns gold ring, diamonds 8 crowns cloth of gold bed 100 crowns
Sources:
Food Costs 1272-1327
Cost of Living - 18th Century
Medieval Sourcebook: Medieval Price List
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