Coins

[JasonMckerra]

I've been exploring the price of having some coins made.

Even the smallest run of most basic metal coin would cost us at least $2000. There is another alternative. The Grand Duchy of Westartica and the Northern Forest Archipelago have both experimented with creating wooden coins.You can view some of the results here.



I've been looking into the cost of doing this.

We could do this for less than $100.

Basically we'd need a circle cutter, a custom stamp, some indelible ink and some wood. We'd have the design of the coin made on a stamp, cut circles of wood, and stamp them.

At my local hardware store, a circle cutter is less than $40. Various mail order websites will do custom stamps for less than $50.

What do people think of the idea?

[JasonMckerra]

It seems some towns in America used wooden coins as an alternative local currency in the 1930s. Interesting.

[JasonMckerra]

Is everyone in Lavalon familiar with the concept of Ithaca hours? If we consider making coins, we'll need to discuss what currency they would represent, or whether they would be purerly symbolic.

The Empire of Atlantium backs their currency in US dollars, they declare they will convert any Atlantian currency presented at their office to USD. Other micronations make their currency out of, or back their currency in, precious metals.

I don't really like either of these ideas. What's really so precious about a precious metal?

All wealth is ultimately the product of labor, and that's what I like about the ithaca hour, they've tried to have their currency represent an amount of labor.

Thoughts?

[Brandon]

All real world currencies today float, even if they won't admit it, so I would say it isn't necessary.

[JasonMckerra]

Whilst in reality this is true, currency floats on public perception. How do we create the perception that our new currency has value?

[Gottingen]

By pegging it to something that already does.

[JasonMckerra]

My thoughts exactly.

Pegging it (even notionally) to something of value, namely labor, is what I was considering. It's a nice idea, labor is the source of all new value, but arguably this also sets the price of labor.

Is this a problem, either philosophically or practically, in a micronation?

[Brandon]

Well, you could always randomly change it to make it feel like it is floating, but I think the way we did it in Breuddwyd was brilliant.  You could make a penny worth a post and then send someone a wooden quarter if they trade in that much with SMFshop, and that is the closest to labor we have.  I have been thinking about this a lot because I think I want to be the Minister of Internal Affairs here in Lavalon, I just have a few good ideas but not enough time to explain all of what I have been thinking TODAY because I am in the public library.

[JasonMckerra]

I would love to talk to you about your ideas. When is a good time for a conversation?

[Brandon]

Gotta work today, and of course we have the problem of the time zone difference.  Calculate up a time for us tomorrow, I am EST US which is usually GMT - 5 but I don't know if we are on DST right now, but I will be available anytime from 8:30-5pm EST and then I will check right at the start to see what you said.

[JasonMckerra]

Google is god. 5pm American EST works out as 9am Australian EST. I'll set an alarm (I tend to be a lazy bugger rarely up at such early times in the morning!).