Currency

Within the Armant Empire, financial matters generally fall under the purview of the Guild of Banking and Indenture, which operates with an explicit mandate from the Imperial Hebdomad.  Amongst their most important functions is the production of both the Imperial tael—the carefully calibrated weights used to judge currency—and the issuing of bank seals used to officiate promissory notes.

Imperial currency is minted in one of three metals: copper, silver, and gold.  By weight, each metal is considered to be worth one order of magnitude more than a similar weight of metal one step lower in order.  Thus, one weight of gold is valued the same as ten weights of silver or a hundred weights of copper.

Copper money is usually accounted in obols; at the minting houses, molten copper is poured into vast molds that produce dozens or hundreds of identical copper rods roughy a third of an ounce in weight each.  The obols tend to be rough and uneven, but can be mass-produced and their negligible value prevents any more care from being wasted on them.

Silver money—the life's blood of the working classes—come in coinage of two weights: a circular ⅓-ounce coin and an oblong 1-ounce coin of three times the value.  Depending on the specifics of profession and location, the average worker in the Empire can expect to come home with one of these two denominations in return for a full day's work.  The circular coins are produced by first moulding a round blank, and, while still hot, it is given a single blow with a striking hammer to print a pattern, though often with little care paid.  By comparison, the oblong coins are of a much higher quality, being entirely molded in more expensive but detailed sand molds, allowing for smoother, more rounded edges and consistently centered patterns.

Gold money has even more care lavished upon it, and is the provenance of merchants, nobles, and adventurers.  Frugal peasants can save for gold coinage, but usually only do so to make critical purchases, such as livestock or wedding dowries.  To be recognized as legal tender, each unit of currency must be refined to a purity of 39 parts in 40, and assigned one of five different weights:

• Ring: The basic unit of gold currency, it is a thin hoop of metal equal in weight to ⅓ of an ounce.  They are often strung on lengths of twine or rope for easy carrying.  A single golden ring has the value of ten circular silver coins or a hundred copper coins.
• Staff: Also called a spade or razor, this is a thin strip of metal several inches in length, with an eye on one end, through which twine can be passed.  Each staff is worth four rings, and weighs 1 ⅓ ounces.
• Coin: A thick, oval-shaped disc of metal stamped with the seal of the Guild of Banking and Indenture below the image of the Imperial Flame.  A coin is valued at twelve rings or three staves, and weighs 4 ounces.
• Boat: Also known as a sycee, it has a shape similar to several coins stacked one atop the others, with the ends flaring upwards and a small indentation in the center.  Unlike rings, staffs, and coins, the boats are not beholden to a standard form, and often bear engraving or stylized imagery of flowers, bridges, birds, and more.  The largest coinage employed in general transactions, they weigh 10 ounces and are valued at 30 rings.
• Turtle: A ceremonial currency usually eschewed in favor of a promissory note, turtles are two-and-a-half-pound blocks stylized in the design of a turtle or tortoise and valued at 120 rings.  They are often given as signs of good luck, most often used when giving a dowry or a loan or gift for something auspicious, such as the starting of a new business.  In these instances, it is most common to present a single turtle along with lesser coinage or a promissory note to cover the balance of the gift.

In addition to the currency available, much business in the Empire is handled through the issuance of promissory notes, backed by the Guild of Banking and Indenture and the trust of the Corporeal Throne.  These function as legal tender with all the same value as an equal amount of coinage.  The notes are elaborate slips of paper which are embossed by enchanted printing presses that only the Guild of Banking and Indenture is allowed to operate by special license from the Imperial Hebdomad.  In addition to this, each note bears six seals upon it (a representative of the bank branch that printed it, the printer who produced it, a representative of the bank branch that issued it, the bank teller or agent that directly issued it, a representative of the company or individual that received it, and the individual who issued the note to the bearer), and errors with any one of the seals will render the note invalid.

A great deal of faith is placed in the currency of the Empire, and part of the reason for that is the strictures against counterfeiting.  Not only are the promissory notes incredibly difficult to fake and the Imperial tael issued to ensure the correct weight of coinage, but the counterfeiting of currency is one of the Five Devils: the five crimes whose punishment is death regardless of the perpetrator's social status, along with treason, murder of a government official, trespass into an Imperial property, and disrespect to the Imperial authority (which is often used as a catch-all to punish other severe crimes not covered by the first four Devils).  Not even a member of the Imperial Hebdomad can (theoretically) get away with the production of false currency.