Currency
While bartering does exist, Tortall’s economy is primarily based on coinage called Nobles. There are (in order of worth) Gold, Silver and Copper Nobles, while smaller coins, just called Coppers exist as well. Below you will find a (in progress) list of prices and wages to help better understand what the coinage is worth.
Copper
The base currency of Tortall
1 Copper:
- ∙ 2 loaves of day-old bread
∙ pickle from a street seller
∙ lily-of-the-valley incense at a temple
∙ a gallon of good ale
∙ a pound of cheese
- ∙ a loaf of fresh bread
∙ a dozen eggs
∙ a pound of dried fruit
∙ two pounds of beef/mutton
- ∙ a small sack of four-day-old bread
∙ clothing for lower class commoners
- ∙ deposit on a baker's basket
∙ jasmine & lavender bath
∙ a chicken
- ∙linen chemise
∙boots
Coin equivalent to ten coppers
1 Copper Noble:
- ∙ a big piece of coin for someone in the Lower City
∙ Enough to buy a meal of Two ales, another drink, and enough eel tart, roast hare, split-pea soup, and cheese fritters to feed three people, with an additional loaf of bread with butter for spreading
- ∙ silver Pregnancy charm
∙ a sheep
Coin equivalent to ten copper nobles
1 Silver Noble
- ∙ Pig
∙ Woolen Gown
∙ Well made Tunic
∙ Best Wool per yard
∙ Spices per pound
- ∙ Spinning Wheel
∙ Cow
∙ Silk per yard
∙ Leather Armour
- ∙ Ox
- ∙ Draught Horse
∙ Anvil
∙Bellows
Coin equivalent to one-quarter gold noble or two and a half silver nobles
Gold Noble (later called Crowns)
Coin equivalent to ten silver nobles
2 Gold Noble
- ∙ Furs to add to garments
- ∙ Not enough of a bribe for George to kiss someone like Lady Roxanne
∙ A very very good price for a horse and tack
∙ Winner’s Purse of Kel v Groten (and Voelden)
∙ Fashionable Gown (can be up to 30 gold nobles)
∙ Armour for a squire
- ∙ Winner's Purse of Raoul v Wayland
∙ Well-bred riding/war horse (can be up to 50 gold nobles)
∙ Armour for a Knight
Per Day
Armory Shop:
Chief armorer– 4 copper nobles
Other armorers– 3 copper nobles
Apprentices– 6 coppers
Weaver (guild)– 5 coppers
Master mason– 6 coppers
Master carpenter– 6 coppers
Apprentice– 3 coppers
Knight– 1 silver noble
Man-at-Arms– 5 copper nobles
Infantry– 1 copper noble
Archers– 3 coppers
Captain– 1 silver noble
Lieutenant– 5 copper nobles
Per Month
Kitchen servants– 1 copper noble + 5 coppers (plus room and board)
Head Cook– 2 silver nobles
Maid in the Royal Palace – 1 silver noble(plus room and board)
Maid not in the Royal Palace– 5 copper nobles
Head Laundress – 2 silver nobles
Gardener/Falconer/Grooms– 1 silver noble
Child's Nurse– 2 silver nobles
Per Year
Lady-in-Waiting– 40 gold nobles
Prime Minister– 100 gold nobles
Successful Merchants– 100+ gold nobles
A Top Lord Magistrate– up to 300 gold nobles
Barons– 200-500+ gold nobles
Lords– 400-1000+ gold nobles
Counts/Dukes– 2000-5000+ gold nobles
The Crown– 30,000 gold nobles/year
Keep in mind noble's incomes are derived from rents on several large estates, government offices, timber, ventures, sales of produce from manorial farms, etc. Much of this may be tied up in land, annuities for younger brothers, dowries for sisters, and "widow's thirds" for dowagers. They're not actually spending that much a year!
Estimated Costs
Education
Convent– 10 gold nobles/year plus expenses
University– 10-50 gold nobles/year plus expenses depending on the instruction
Fencing Instruction– 5 silver nobles/month
Dowries
Commoner Dowries– 7 silver nobles+
Noblewoman– 1000 gold nobles +
Buildings
to rent...
Cottage– 2 silver nobles/year
Craftsman's house– 10 silver nobles/year
Merchant's house– 2-3 gold nobles/year
to buy...
Cottage (2 storeys)– 2 gold nobles
Townhouse(well built)– 5 gold nobles
Craftsman's house (i.e., with shop, work area, and room for workers)– 10-15 gold nobles
Merchant's house– 30-60 gold nobles
House with courtyard– 90+ gold nobles