Invisible Fortress:Jade standard
The Jade Standard is the system of currency minted by the Realm and accepted in most regions of the world.
Jade coin
Jade coin is minted from actual jade. Jade talents are 68-pound slabs of jade which smaller denominations are carved from. While a talent is worth 1024 obols, the slab contains 1536 obols by weight; the difference is the result of the carving process to turn a talent into smaller coins.
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in talent | GP equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talent | T | 1 | 8388pp 6gp 8cp |
| Bar | B | 8 | 1048pp 5gp 1ep 2sp 6cp |
| Mina | M | 64 | 131pp 1ep 2sp 2cp |
| Shekel | S | 128 | 65pp 5gp 3sp 6cp |
| Obol | O | 1024 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Bit | 4096 | 4pp 1ep 4sp 6cp | |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in bar | GP equivalent |
| Bar | B | 1 | 1048pp 5gp 1ep 2sp 6cp |
| Mina | M | 8 | 131pp 1ep 2sp 2cp |
| Shekel | S | 16 | 65pp 5gp 3sp 6cp |
| Obol | O | 128 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Bit | 512 | 4pp 1ep 4sp 6cp | |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in mina | GP equivalent |
| Mina | M | 1 | 131pp 1ep 2sp 2cp |
| Shekel | S | 2 | 65pp 5gp 3sp 6cp |
| Obol | O | 16 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Bit | 64 | 4pp 1ep 4sp 6cp | |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in shekel | GP equivalent |
| Shekel | S | 1 | 65pp 5gp 3sp 6cp |
| Obol | O | 8 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Bit | 32 | 4pp 1ep 4sp 6cp | |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in obol | GP equivalent |
| Obol | O | 1 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Bit | 4 | 4pp 1ep 4sp 6cp |
Jade scrip
Jade scrip consists of paper currency (koku and quian) and copper coins (siu and yen).
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in obol | GP equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obol | O | 1 | 8pp 1gp 1ep 4sp 2cp |
| Koku | k | 8 | 1pp 2sp 4cp |
| Quian | q | 64 | 1gp 2sp 8cp |
| Siu | s | 128 | 1ep 1sp 4cp |
| Yen | y | 1024 | 8cp |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in koku | GP equivalent |
| Koku | k | 1 | 1pp 2sp 4cp |
| Quian | q | 8 | 1gp 2sp 8cp |
| Siu | s | 16 | 1ep 1sp 4cp |
| Yen | y | 128 | 8cp |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in quian | GP equivalent |
| Quian | q | 1 | 1gp 2sp 8cp |
| Siu | s | 2 | 1ep 1sp 4cp |
| Yen | y | 16 | 8cp |
| Currency | Abbreviation | Number in Siu | GP equivalent |
| Siu | s | 1 | 1ep 1sp 4cp |
| Yen | y | 8 | 8cp |
Siu can be broken into halves (4 yen / 3 silver pieces and 2 copper pieces) or quarters (2 yen / 1 silver piece and 6 copper pieces) and still be used as currency. Yen can be broken into halves (4 copper pieces), quarters (2 copper piece), or eighths (1 copper piece) and still be used as currency.
Most commoners deal primarily in siu and yen. They may have assets that could be expressed using koku and quian, but the smaller denominations are more useful for daily purchases. Commoners will rarely handle jade coins, not even bits, and only the wealthiest merchants and nobles can afford to pay for things in talents. Even those who can deal in talents almost never actually carry a 68 pound slab of stone around with them; numbers on a bank's ledger are far easier to lift.
Other currencies
Silver standard
The standard in eastern, northern, and southern regions which are not under Realm control (though merchants in these regions commonly accept jade currency). The value is more volatile than the jade standard, and different regions mint coins with different purities, but the general conversion between jade and silver is 1 jade talent (68 pounds) to 5 silver talents (64 pounds).
| 1 silver talent | 64 pounds | 4 dirhams | 1600 dinars | ⅕ jade talent | 204 ½ obols |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 pounds | 1 dirham | 400 dinars | 51 ¼ obols | ||
| 8 pounds | 200 dinars | 25 ¾ obols | |||
| 4 pounds | 100 dinars | 13 obols | |||
| 2 pounds | 50 dinars | 6 ½ obols | |||
| 1 pound | 25 dinars | 3 ¼ obols | |||
| ½ pound | 12 ½ dinars | 1 ¾ obols | |||
| ¼ pound | 6 ¼ dinars | ¾ obols |
Cowrie
Currency standard found in certain areas of the west, the cowrie is a shellfish whose shells are crafted into currency based on their size. Shells are strung together in groups of 25, 50, or 100 shells. While other regions do not accept the cowrie, western islanders will exchange it for other currency standards.
Islanders will trade 1 cowrie for 3 dirhams of silver, but 6 cowries for 1 jade obol.