User:Guy/Splat/Trade Goods/Gold
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Gold. Common trade good (metal), 100 gp per kilogram. Gold is primarily traded in two forms: gold pieces and less commonly gold bars. A gold ingot (or gold bar) is a kilogram of gold purified through smelting and cast into a standardized brick shape, ready for trade or for metallurgy. A gold ingot is worth 100 gp, and is a petty item.
Many groups of people have their own currency and denotations, but the most widely respected trade good is gold. Travelers and merchants often compare the value or 'cost' of all other items to gold pieces, as the literal gold standard. Though no one has enough clout to enforce the gold standard on all the world, this evolved on its own over thousands of years for several reasons, summarized below.
Despite this standard, gold itself is usually reserved for large purchases. Small day-to-day purchases such as for food are usually made with less valuable coins like silver and copper, a regional currency like beans or cowry shells, or bartering.
Durable. Gold is extremely resistant to tarnishing or erosion, even compared to other metals. Seashells or paper notes are relatively easy to destroy, and generally won't last for generations. Some trade goods like food or oil are outright destroyed with use.
Malleable. Gold can be melted and reshaped into coins, ingots, vestments, or other forms relatively easily by anyone with the means. Even metal alloys like bronze, brass, or steel aren't as easy to reshape while maintaining the same consistency and purity.
Genuine. Gold is easily recognizable, but difficult to counterfeit. To a skilled accountant able to detect magic, it is extremely difficult to pass off any other material as pure gold—and outright impossible once it is smelted. By contrast, metals like tin and zinc are difficult for most common folk to tell apart from other minerals.
Decentralized. Unlike bank notes or kingdom-based denominations, gold retains its perceived value across many different states and regions—even in places without anything like a government.
Hoarding. Paradoxically, gold can be hoarded in one location, but due to its weight it eventually becomes so cumbersome that hoarding large amounts of it becomes exponentially difficult and costly. This simultaneously allows dragons to have their infamous hoards of treasure, but prevents anyone—even titans—from controlling all the gold in a large enough region without expending gold just to protect their gold. Autocrats and the sort who manage to hoard all the wealth in their empire typically can only do so with an imaginary currency, the value of which conveniently disappears whenever their empire inevitably collapses.
Rare. Gold is difficult to find. It is rare enough that folk need to work to find any at all, but not so rare that it can only be found in a few controllable locations—unlike the more rare platinum.
Almost Useless. Despite all of the above, gold as a material doesn't have many important uses. Copper and iron are needed to form tools, weapons, and armor. In the feywilds and dire bog, silver is needed to combat shapechangers and dire beasts. Gold's uses are almost purely decorative, tying it firmly to its role as a representation of value.
Many groups of people have their own currency and denotations, but the most widely respected trade good is gold. Travelers and merchants often compare the value or 'cost' of all other items to gold pieces, as the literal gold standard. Though no one has enough clout to enforce the gold standard on all the world, this evolved on its own over thousands of years for several reasons, summarized below.
Despite this standard, gold itself is usually reserved for large purchases. Small day-to-day purchases such as for food are usually made with less valuable coins like silver and copper, a regional currency like beans or cowry shells, or bartering.
Durable. Gold is extremely resistant to tarnishing or erosion, even compared to other metals. Seashells or paper notes are relatively easy to destroy, and generally won't last for generations. Some trade goods like food or oil are outright destroyed with use.
Malleable. Gold can be melted and reshaped into coins, ingots, vestments, or other forms relatively easily by anyone with the means. Even metal alloys like bronze, brass, or steel aren't as easy to reshape while maintaining the same consistency and purity.
Genuine. Gold is easily recognizable, but difficult to counterfeit. To a skilled accountant able to detect magic, it is extremely difficult to pass off any other material as pure gold—and outright impossible once it is smelted. By contrast, metals like tin and zinc are difficult for most common folk to tell apart from other minerals.
Decentralized. Unlike bank notes or kingdom-based denominations, gold retains its perceived value across many different states and regions—even in places without anything like a government.
Hoarding. Paradoxically, gold can be hoarded in one location, but due to its weight it eventually becomes so cumbersome that hoarding large amounts of it becomes exponentially difficult and costly. This simultaneously allows dragons to have their infamous hoards of treasure, but prevents anyone—even titans—from controlling all the gold in a large enough region without expending gold just to protect their gold. Autocrats and the sort who manage to hoard all the wealth in their empire typically can only do so with an imaginary currency, the value of which conveniently disappears whenever their empire inevitably collapses.
Rare. Gold is difficult to find. It is rare enough that folk need to work to find any at all, but not so rare that it can only be found in a few controllable locations—unlike the more rare platinum.
Almost Useless. Despite all of the above, gold as a material doesn't have many important uses. Copper and iron are needed to form tools, weapons, and armor. In the feywilds and dire bog, silver is needed to combat shapechangers and dire beasts. Gold's uses are almost purely decorative, tying it firmly to its role as a representation of value.