Money in the Grave New World

A quick guide to currencies in the Witch Hunter: The Invisible World game.

By Walt CiechanowskiFor simplicity’s sake, all characters in

Witch Hunter: The Invisible World

are assumed to use English currency. This enables charactersto easily complete business transactions without having to worry aboutsuch mundane matters as exchange rates. This also allows the GM toconcentrate on more important and interesting matters thanconverting the price lists into Spanish or Dutch money. That said, variations in currency can play a large role in establishingthe flavor of the colonial setting. In the Caribbean, for example, onemight hear pirates refer to “pieces of eight.” Similarly, a WitchHunter will realize that she’s left New England when the next townshe visits uses the lion dollar instead of the guinea. Finally, one canlearn valuable information from a person based on the coinage he’scarrying. This article is designed to marry the flavor of multiple currencies with ease of use in a

WitchHunter

game. It takes the conceit that coinage of different colonial powers have been adjusted to work seamlessly with English currency. In the Grave New World, this is represented by theCharles Town Commercial Compact.In 1867, colonial representatives gathered in Charles Town to make conducting businessbetween the colonies a stable affair. A compact was agreed to whereby the colonial governors would consent to a uniform currency exchange rate. While no sovereign is bound by it, themonarchs in Europe have generally let it be. Only English King James II objected to it, but uponhis removal dual monarchs William and Mary were only too happy to endorse it.Because of the Charles Town Commercial Compact (or just “the Compact” amongst businesspeople), it is very easy to use local currency for the price lists in

Witch Hunter

products. Simply substitute the British coin for the foreign equivalent.

British Dutch French Spanish Aztec

Guinea (1) Lion Dollar Écu Doubloon QuachtliCrown (1/4) Guilder Franc Peso CortesShilling (1/20) Stuiver Sol Real QuetzalPenny (1/240) Penning Denier Maravedi Cacao BeanFarthing (1/960)

Witch Hunter: The Invisible World, and all related names and terms, are © Paradigm Concepts, Inc and are used without permission. Their usedoes not constitute a challenge to the rights held by PCI.Find out more about Witch Hunter at http://www.paradigmconcepts.com/witch_hunter.

Currency Notes

CacaoBean

Prior to European influence, the Aztecs used a bartersystem that used the cacao bean as a common unit of measure. While the Aztecs have started minting coins, thecacao bean is still widely used within the Empire. Thecacao, a copper coin equivalent to the cacao bean, has justentered circulation in Tenochtitlan markets.

Cortes

At the urging of French traders, Emperor Acolmiztliagreed to mint an Aztec coin that was equivalent to thefranc and the peso. He called the new gold coin a “cortes”and the cruel joke is not lost on the Spanish in the region.Still, Aztec gold trades as well as any and is begrudgingly accepted even in Spanish markets.

Crown

A large silver coin.

Denier

A silver coin equal to the British penny.

Doubloon

This coin is the “Spanish gold” that tempts many a piratein the Caribbean and elsewhere. It is worth two

pistoles

, amore common Spanish gold coin in circulation in theGrave New World, from which it gets its name (

doblón

isSpanish for “double”).

Écu

A large silver coin.

Farthing

Originally a copper coin, farthings are currently made of tin plugged with copper. These “tin farthings” are provingunpopular due to corrosion. Farthings are rarely used inthe New World and worth so little that foreign currencieshaven’t bothered to match it. Ironically, merchants allover the New World that sell cheap goods keep Britishfarthings on hand precisely for this reason.

Franc

While the franc has gone out of circulation in France, thecity of Quebec continues to mint a “Colonial Franc,” which is equal to the new

Louis d’or

coin being minted inFrance. These silver coins are simply known as “francs,”although New Englanders disparagingly call them“shekels,” a dig at Catholic New France.

Guilder

A silver coin. Interestingly, the name is derived from“golden,” and both gold and silver Dutch guilders havebeen minted over the centuries. Currently, the silverguilder is in circulation.

Guinea

A gold coin equal to a British pound. The pound is moreproperly a unit of measure; if a character is said to becarrying three pounds in his pocket, then he’s likely carrying three guineas. Previous gold coins that wereequal to the guinea (and may be in sunken English vesselsor buried treasure) included sovereigns, unites, andlaurels.

LionDollar

This silver coin gets its common name from thedepiction of a lion stamped on one side. Due to theinfluence of the Dutch West India Company, the LionDollar is as commonly used in Northern English coloniesas the peso in Southern English colonies.

Maravedi

These copper coins are minted in Hispaniola.

Penning

A copper coin. Dutch and English colonists frequently mixed-and-matched penning and pennies even before theCompact.