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The King's Currency

There is another type of money in Anaxas called the King's Currency. It is used in the underworld among criminals, and can be used to buy anything from weapons and drugs to slaves and safe passage. The name refers to Silas Hawke, the self-appointed King of the Underworld.

There are two underworld coins: the bird, and the penny. Birds are stamped with the head of a hawk (Hawke's personal crest) and pennies are unmarked. Both coins are made of copper; a bird is worth approximately the same as a concord, and a penny is the equivalent of half a shill. The coins themselves are minted by Silas Hawke. These coins can also be broken up into pieces, and the scraps are still accepted in most places. Many ha'pennies (pennies cut in half by a smith or someone with a strong knife) are in circulation.

• 1 bird = 20 pennies
• 1 penny = 2 ha'pennies
• 1 ha'penny = 2 quart'pennies
• 1 quart'penny = 2 scraps

For approximation, here's a comparison price list. This list will change with the game economy.

• 1 concord is a decent amount of money - approximately $300 in modern US money, enough to pay off half the monthly rent.
• 1 penny is about $15 in today's money, enough to pay for a regular dinner out, or a large fancy bar tab.
• 1 ha'penny is about $7 in today's money, enough to buy a loaf of bread or a couple drinks.
• 1 quart'penny is enough to buy a paper, a beer or cheap bread.
• 1 scrap is enough to buy a small piece of candy - it's mostly used as kid's pocket change.

The benefit of having an "underworld" currency is that the money cannot be taxed, and one can often buy things with pennies and birds that one could not buy with overworld money. A seller of illegal spells, for instance, would not accept concords for fear of being arrested by an undercover member of The Seventen, but might accept birds, as they all but guarantee the holder is part of the criminal underworld.

Galdori are largely unaware of the rise in popularity of the King's Currency, and do not consider it a threat.