The Currencies of Offworld
Due to the sheer size and length (6000 miles) of The Race of Offworld, the systems of barter, exchange, and currency vary by region, with the earlier parts of the race, namely the first and second hextants, using a simple barter and exchange system (where no established coinage is used or available), and the later parts using more sophisticated forms of currency and exchange, including the use of minted coins issued in preset values. However, the methods of exchange for each area varies greatly based on culture and economic needs. For example, places like The Demesne of Kaspar and Trail Point use a weights and measure system of currency where each metal or material being traded has a given value at a given measurement. In Kaspar, for example, the value of currency is set in ounces with coins being minted in one, half and quarter ounce denominations with gold, silver, bronze and brass being the primary metals used in currency exchange.
This method of currency delineation also follows over into the denominations, with 1oz of gold being worth 10oz of silver, and 1oz of silver being worth 20oz of bronze or brass. Bronze or brass, in turn, comes in numerous denominations, each one a multiple of the other. However, bronze is often seen as the more valuable of the two metals, and thus 1oz of bronze is often traded for 2oz of brass. A half ounce bronze coin, therefore, is equal to a 1oz brass coin, and so on. However, this method of currency does not carry over to other cities in the area necessarily, although some levels of similarity in currency exchange exist. For example, in cities like Bremen Te Barro, currency is denominated in the Old English units of currency, with pounds, guineas, shillings and the like, being commonly used. In cities like Logontown and the regions of the White Mountains, all commerce and exchange is restricted entirely to barter and trade with no fixed or accepted currency system in place.
As a result, trade between regions is at times difficult, and sometimes outright impossible, when dealing strictly with the exchange of currency for goods. Even so, merchants of all shapes and sizes find ways to overcome these shortcomings or limitations, and are primarily the ones who make trade possible within the length of the race, and its surrounding inhabited regions. Another interesting element of the local currency system is the Resource Nodes, which operate on their own unique method of barter and exchange. Namely, credits and resource slots are earned based on a participant's progress on the course, as well as special circumstances where additional credits or resource slots are earned for special activities or behaviors on the course, although the latter is rare. These items can then be traded for other items needed by a racer that can't normally be acquired from a resource node, creating a sort of credit/barter system of currency and exchange.
