About material to make coin

[Daitengu]

BTW I don't know how green your elves are, but agro-mining is a thing. That is mining by farming plants that hyper absorb specific metals from the ground.

 

[Jemini]

Technological application is one thing. The other thing is copper and silver got tarnish too quick. I have only discovered that only gold and platinum would be able to last longer enough for my elves, but those are quite rare.

Furthermore, I think this is a good opportunity to question this subject. I mean knowledge and what-if scenarios are what make us humans.

And why is that a problem? We use paper for money for Christ's sake. Have you ever seen a bill that has gone through the wash?

 

[Ai-chan]

The elves in my fic lives a long life. Hence, I am having trouble finding a material that can last around 80-100+ before they have to be changed.

The typical materials are copper, silver, and gold.
With the exception of gold, silver and copper have crucial application to the technology so they are not used as currency.

What are the other candidates for coinage metals?

Petrified wood. They last forever. The challenge is to turn it into a coin. But you don't need to turn it into a coin. Items can be valuable and has fixed value as it is. Especially if your elves use it as 'petrified sacred wood' that can hold magic or some shit. It will instantly be valuable to people outside the area who uses worthless gold, silver and copper that can't hold magic.

Or just use mana crystals.

Or maybe your elves got this huge magic tree that drops magic seeds every few weeks. They don't plant these seeds, but if they eat it, they can get instantly powerful for a short time. So they keep it with them in case they need it, but because they don't need it, it accumulated in their pockets. And thus they started using them as currency. Where before they just bartered.

 

[LilTV1155]

Thank for bringing up the coinage issue in isekai.

Here my list.
1. Elysium coins (Obsidian ivory)
2. Sacred elven tree chips - leaves / wood
3. Fruit bars (Divine magic fruits, preserved)
4. Manastone Crystals (Glass Beads)
5. Pelts, Ivory, Scales, Spikes, Sheeps (Barter)
6. Seashells (Not recommended)
7. Black gold (oil beads), holy silver (enchanted/blessedby faeries or deities)

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Plastic. Thick robust plastic. Unless they are going hard on industrialization then it should be a viable way to show scarcity and value of a unique commodity.

 

[Amok]

the bones of the vanquished

 

[lnv]

My magic system is too hard to have such inventive usage that can trivialise the scarcity of materials.

Then how about magic crystals as currency? That is the easiest way to have a valued currency that isn't tied down to value of metals.

Also, do you need to follow the rules of physics in our world? For example, if all things have some magic in them, then they may last longer simply from the residual mana. Especially metals that are often conductive to mana.

But if you must, many metals can change properties based on the alloy. That is why nothing is pure gold, cause gold by itself is too soft. Only by mixing the gold with other alloys do you get where it is at. So easiest way is use a mythical(or make one up) material as an alloy and walla.

 

[CheertheDead]

Also, do you need to follow the rules of physics in our world? For example, if all things have some magic in them, then they may last longer simply from the residual mana. Especially metals that are often conductive to mana.

Petrified wood. They last forever. The challenge is to turn it into a coin. But you don't need to turn it into a coin. Items can be valuable and has fixed value as it is. Especially if your elves use it as 'petrified sacred wood' that can hold magic or some shit. It will instantly be valuable to people outside the area who uses worthless gold, silver and copper that can't hold magic.

Or just use mana crystals.

Or maybe your elves got this huge magic tree that drops magic seeds every few weeks. They don't plant these seeds, but if they eat it, they can get instantly powerful for a short time. So they keep it with them in case they need it, but because they don't need it, it accumulated in their pockets. And thus they started using them as currency. Where before they just bartered.

No. I don’t need to follow Physics too strictly, but the established lore is that mana can not interact with the physical world. So the normal narrative of mana being the ultimate and universal source of energy that makes everything better won’t work in my setting. Rather than laws of physics, I am more concerned about the loophole in the plot if I let too many things jumble up together with overlapped functions and no distinct differences.

And why is that a problem? We use paper for money for Christ's sake. Have you ever seen a bill that has gone through the wash?

I will think about that. Maybe because I feel it was too much of a hassle to change the bills every couple of decades.

 

[CheekiBreeki]

You either go super big brain and create an entirely new kind of fantasy material (Elysium, magic grass, mana crystal...) or stick with the good old metal coins.

Gold, silver, copper or any metal good enough to become currency will do. Just so you know, gold and silver coins from the Tang dynasty survived till today, which is 1000+ years later. Still afraid that your elves are not bright enough to keep their gold coins for that long? Add a durable material like nickel, chromium, orichalcum... into the coin.

Honestly, you are missing the point here. What makes money valuable and long lasting is not the material, but the real value of your currency. As long as you have some kind of central bank with enough wealth to back your currency, it will last forever. You can even switch currency once every 10-20 years or make everyone use tea leaves for money and nobody would complain.

 

[AnUnknownMan]

If magic is a renewable resource in the world (or a lifeforce), I could see a material that acts as a container. The magic (whatever energy that might come in story-wise) preserves the container when full of magic, but the longer it holds it it consumes the energy. It is compliant towards the magic by absorbing it. That might also mean the material isn't malleable from alterations or equipped to be enchanted. It just sucks magic in and holds it in before running out of the energy (however long that takes) or until somebody intentionally draws it out for spells or whatever magical wonders that exist. Without magic, the material could degrade over time, but maybe magic restores it too? It'd be interesting to have this material sort of be an alternate form of life that has grown and adapted towards co-existing with magic in the world.

The "coinage" can be made of this material and the inhabitants of the world would know its worth by, maybe, glowing? Coins that light up when full of magic and are brighter (worth more) with higher quantities of magic in it.

Dragon coins: Magic precast by a dragon that allows for certain spells to be cast. Each spell is contained in baked mud with powdered dragon scale. The ratio of dragon scale to mud determines the worth of the coin and mana contained within.
Because the material is dragon scale, high ranking coins can use dragon fire. The spells are pre-cast, so as long as the proper procedure is known, anyone can use them. Specialized coins from other races also exist. Doesn't have to be a dragon.
Side benefit: traders that don't trade for dragon coins at a good ratio have insulted the dragon race. Such individuals don't live long.