Alternate currencies

Bison

Banned
Other than paper/fiat money, gold, or silver - what are some alternate means of trade or goods to back a currency? The criteria would have to be practical, accessible, and most importantly, have a stable price. Salt comes to mind, as do cryptocurrencies, but, obviously, they are impossible pre-1900.
 
Other than paper/fiat money, gold, or silver - what are some alternate means of trade or goods to back a currency? The criteria would have to be practical, accessible, and most importantly, have a stable price. Salt comes to mind, as do cryptocurrencies, but, obviously, they are impossible pre-1900.

Salt? Really? The inflation on that once somebody figured out a solid system for evaporating sea water would demolish its value. Not to mention it'd be a simple matter to take any substantial amount and adulterate it with, say, sand.

I'd go beads or shells, if history is to give us any examples.
 
Essentially you need an expensive mostly nonperishable commodity that's easily transportable and measurable, with a regular extraction/production that can be placed under state control.
So: dyes, oils, luxury chemicals, luxury cloth, jewels/minerals.
 
Essentially you need an expensive mostly nonperishable commodity that's easily transportable and measurable, with a regular extraction/production that can be placed under state control.
So: dyes, oils, luxury chemicals, luxury cloth, jewels/minerals.

Oils as a legitimate form of currency would interesting, even if I doubt that it would last long. The idea of countries producing their own little containers of oils with the King/Leaders face printed into the glass or pottery is neat. Different sizes are different values, or maybe different values comes from what kind of oil it is.
 

Skallagrim

Banned
Salt? Really? The inflation on that once somebody figured out a solid system for evaporating sea water would demolish its value. Not to mention it'd be a simple matter to take any substantial amount and adulterate it with, say, sand.

I'd go beads or shells, if history is to give us any examples.

Your criticism is valid, and means that salt isn't viable in the long run-- but you do understand that the word 'salary' is derived from the fact that Roman soldiers were, in fact, at times paid in salt? Technically, they were supposed to get money to buy salt (the reasons for this practice remain debated), but at times, this was just cut out altogether, and they were just paid in salt directly. Not to mention that due to the situation of 'salt money', the soldiers apparently used salt as an informal currency amongst each other, even when "real money" was available. So salt, too, was historically used and does serve as a real example.
 
Your criticism is valid, and means that salt isn't viable in the long run-- but you do understand that the word 'salary' is derived from the fact that Roman soldiers were, in fact, at times paid in salt? Technically, they were supposed to get money to buy salt (the reasons for this practice remain debated), but at times, this was just cut out altogether, and they were just paid in salt directly. Not to mention that due to the situation of 'salt money', the soldiers apparently used salt as an informal currency amongst each other, even when "real money" was available. So salt, too, was historically used and does serve as a real example.

I'm aware of that fact. I'm also away latter-day soldiers did the same with cigarettes, the dispatches of cloth with which to make their cloths and other "rationed" resources: it's hardly as though their pay was denoninated in salt with the intent for that good being exchanged,but was a provision ment to be consumed by the soldier as part of sustained existence. "Payment in Kind" essentially state-based barter rather than currency; a way to ease the burden of a state that often had to collect revenue in kind in an under-monitized age.
 
I'm aware of that fact. I'm also away latter-day soldiers did the same with cigarettes, the dispatches of cloth with which to make their cloths and other "rationed" resources: it's hardly as though their pay was denoninated in salt with the intent for that good being exchanged,but was a provision ment to be consumed by the soldier as part of sustained existence. "Payment in Kind" essentially state-based barter rather than currency; a way to ease the burden of a state that often had to collect revenue in kind in an under-monitized age.
Cigarettes used to be the currency of choice for prisoners too.
Now it's apparently instant noodles.
 
Mummified rear ends of rats. The mummification can only be done by specific means. And then we get an alternate origin for "giving a rat's ass". :)
 
Mummified rear ends of rats. The mummification can only be done by specific means. And then we get an alternate origin for "giving a rat's ass". :)

That idiom would be positively-connotated, and I am not too interested to see how that would go.
 
Essentially you need an expensive mostly nonperishable commodity that's easily transportable and measurable, with a regular extraction/production that can be placed under state control.
So: dyes, oils, luxury chemicals, luxury cloth, jewels/minerals.

It also has to be something that is valuable as it is and not what it can be used for like dye, oil and chemicals, but also common enough that it can be made into money. Luxury cloth for example would only be available to a select few before industrial production methods so the upper class could use it but for a common merchant not to useful if they can't get any.
 
It also has to be something that is valuable as it is and not what it can be used for like dye, oil and chemicals, but also common enough that it can be made into money. Luxury cloth for example would only be available to a select few before industrial production methods so the upper class could use it but for a common merchant not to useful if they can't get any.
Well, obviously it needs to be common enough to be able to get into circulation.
 
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