Mineral Bonds

Mineral bonds were a type of financial security issued during the Foundation Period by private corporations. They became used as a de facto currency. Their value quickly exceeded that of the raw minerals to which they were tied and became purely speculative.
These bonds were redeemable with the issuing company for an appropriate amount of a wide variety of raw resources, including but not limited to nickel, iron, cadmium, molybdenum, silver, gold, sulfur, silicon, and other valuable materials.
They played a key role in the global economic collapse that led directly to the founding of the Consortium. 
== History ==
Beginning around 300 BSC (2000 AD), a multitude of corporations began to heavily invest in space travel. Major players included Boeing-Lockheed-Martin, and SpaceX. About fifty years later (250 BSC), the rise of Asteroidal Industries, Inc., Venusian Industries, Inc., and Mercurian Solar, Inc began directly after the 256 BSC landing of Adele Lylat on Mars. 
Many of these and the minor subsidiary companies began actively scouting for more investors for the proposed mining of the Main Belt. Investors were promised a share in the raw resources rather than a return of profits in return for their initial investment. The legal guarantee of these shares became the promissory notes known as mineral bonds. 
In the 200's BSC, they began to outpace gold in value by several times. As such, private citizens, governments, and other corporations began to buy them in bulk. This increased the wealth of the three main space companies by several fold. From 197 to 123 BSC, the Mercurian Solar project was constructed and Venus began to be mined. 
Beginning in 97 BSC, the first asteroids began to be mined in bulk and quantities of raw material sent to Earth. By this time, mineral bonds had existed for over a hundred years and were used as a day to day currency in some nations. Asteroidal Industries began to purchase other mining companies. Some of these deals were made in return for a combination of currency and mineral bonds.
In about 50 BSC, mineral bonds began to devalue for the first time in history since their issue. As massive quantities of raw material flooded Earth's economy, some investors believed their bonds would become worth less than the equivalent currency price of the material. Many owners began to redeem their bonds for their equivalent in material. Speculation ventures were set up that bought bonds en masse from common people and acted as a middle man to sell the material to Earth companies. This began a rapid inflation of major Earth currencies.
Over the next thirty years, the weakening money system began to affect the distribution of resources and increase the class divide across the globe. Many resources began to be rationed and some nations passed restrictive legislation over their economies. 
By 20 BSC, mineral bonds were a stronger de facto currency than either the United States dollar, Soviet ruble, or the Chinese yuan. They had replaced other currencies in day to day transactions in some areas. A mass panic ensued, and the companies were not able to pay out as the amount of bonds issued outpaced the actual resources available on Earth by several times.
During this time, the United Earth organization gained significant traction around the globe. 
The Zero Day Accords in SY 0 retired mineral bonds, making them effectively worthless. By the First Trilogy Era, they had become collector's items.
== Conspiracy ==
Some believe that the von Dehlin family, the founders and owners of Asteroidal Industries, purposely manipulated the mineral bond system to assure the financial collapse of Earth and subsequent creation of the Consortium. This theory became widespread during the Solar War as a primary propaganda tool of the Technocracy against the Alliance. It was a primary motivating factor for Haydn von Dehlin, the leader of the Third Alliance, to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Third Alliance and condemn the current Consortium.
Category:Foundation Period