Money In Rapture

* See also Rapture_Economy
* See also Surface_CASH
* See also Crash
* See also Economics_of_Production
* See also Rapture_Immigration - Major source of Wealth for Rapture
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An Interesting Question Would Be : What Would Rapture's Money Originally Be 'Based On' ?? :
Speciehttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/specie ( something valuable backing the Ryan Dollar convertible 'on demand' ) is probably the Objectivist's solution. 'Government meddling' is bad/to-be-avoided, and paper money which isn't backed by specie is subject to harmful manipulation. Specie on Demand to be redeemed for the Paper Bills ??? Unless there is a one-for-one 'reserve', as soon as a panic makes people 'redeem' ( and hoard it - taking out of circulation), any remaining Paper Money is devalued (That is a classic monetary system problem ). 
* What would the Specie be in New Rapture ?? How much would be enough for Raptures economy ( including when Rapture grew ... ) It IS a bit different than on The Surface where you have half a chance to flee with your wealth somewhere ( in Rapture you are 'in a bottle' at the bottom of the sea ).
* Was there a Tinned Tuna Reserve in Rapture ? : ( Except that IS eventually Perishable )
* "Sweat of the Brow" is hardly a valuable item in itself ( a standard 'valued' Unit of Labor measure 'smacks' too much of Socialism ).
* Could there be 'Gold' enough for the Money Supply ( for normal commerce needs ) ? It would HAVE to be brought to Rapture first, and purchasing it ALSO be in addition to ALL the money needed ( and SPENT into the outside World ) to build Rapture. Gold coins get a bit weighty and silver likewise for large scale transactions ( large denomination bank notes backed by gold was done in the old days ).
Confidence in Ryan and the Rapture Philosophy might be all there could be. A promise that you will always be able to pay your Power Bill, Rent, and get Trolley Tokens for it might be the only guarantee. American Civil War : the Government started largescale Federal printing of Paper Money (Greenbacks) and the fact that Government TAXES could be paid using that Paper Currency gave it an trusted intrinsic value. 
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Surface Money
Surface Money has value on The Surface and would have value to buy things from there (Before 1951) and later for Smuggling. But it has no other value IN Rapture to commonly purchase things.
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Banks - Important Component of Economy of Old Rapture :
How Banks might have worked - Ryan would have NO  (?) official restrictive laws for regulation, but there could be standard contracts for conditions of how money was to be handled/secured ( You HAVE TO HAVE some Contract Law enforcement if you want any of the large 'Big City' type institutionalized commercial/business we are shown/implied existed in Rapture ).
Loaning Money by Bank from Accounts for CASH Which Pays Interest :
* Example would be that all loans made by a 'Safe' Bank would ( by Contract Agreement ) require strong security of most of the value of the loan.  Secured Mortgages
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* Another more speculative 'Bank' would have more liberal security requirements for the loans ( at a higher interest rate ), or even the Bank itself would invest in partnerships in businesses ( a simplified type of 'stock' market ).  An understanding would exist that your money may not be there if things go bad.
* Safe Deposit Boxes - offered an alternative of a place to securely store money/other valuables/papers.
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Raptures Original Money Supply :
* Quite a number of rich people came to Rapture to escape the "Atomic Doomsday", and others the growing socialism.   Thus large amounts of money were available.
* Many immigrant's Surface financial assets were sold off slowly to maximize the exchange/recovery and to avoid liquidations being a 'fire sale', and to avoid attention.
* Immigrant's assets from the Surface were converted to Rapture Dollars (R$).  The outside monies were then used by Ryan to build the City.  The monies would be good for purchasing services from "The City".
* Other investors externally paid for space and expenses of construction of their own ( it wasn't just Ryan's fortune that got Rapture built - there were separate construction organizations ) which they subsequently had ownership of ( but did not receive Rapture Dollars for ).
* Wealth used for external construction costs ( with the return of ownership rights ) did not increase money supply.
* R$ Money originally going to internal construction costs ( labor, locally produced materials ) would recycle the CASH back into the system (again not increasing money supply).
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Money of Rapture (R$) :
On bringing in immigrants to Rapture there would be an initial fixed conversion from 'Surface' money on arrival ( standardized on US$ - converted thru Ryan's Surface Companies ) or before personal items intended to be brought to Rapture were purchased ).  Credit from surface Financial Assetscould be converted to purchased In-Rapture buildings, Residences, Shares in Businesses ( ex- Rapture Utilities ), etc ...  And the remainder was turned into Rapture CASH Money. 
That exchanged Surface money was then spent by Ryan ( and other city builders ) to buy/manufacture more materials/components and pay for labor/expenses to facilitate more City Construction.  Securities/properties on the Surface would/could/should be slowly sold off ( It is a good thing the late 1940s/early 1950s were a Boom time up there ) to get the best value and to not attract attention.
Materials bought/acquired privately by individuals on the Surface and brought there would not need monetary conversion ( transport charges still applied ).  They added to the City's Sum Wealth.
As long as goods from The Surface were transferred, money's value was roughly linked.   Later value would be independent of The Surface and subject to Supply and Demand within Rapture.    Value of money is based on who will accept it in exchange for goods and services ( and an expectation that the same would hold true for it later ).
Regulation of Rapture's Money Supply was supposed to be largely uncontrolled ( No creation of new 'fiat' money ).  Prices in Ryan's Rapture would not be regulated, but it might be roughly bound to basic expenses, like Power and Heating ( which were largely maintained/controlled by Ryan ).    So, one stabilizing factor for 'money' would be Ryan ( the major property holder in Rapture ) accepting Ryan dollars in payments for Rent and Power/Heat.
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New Rapture based its new Money on the basic commodity of a certain quantities of edible fish/basic rent and power, and an hourly wage for basic City Maintenance work.
Players expand past those basics and there would be further expenses for power/heat/rents.   Free market for various goods the Player would use in the game - tools/consumables/training of skills/City services/materials for building/etc ... ( via an "Auction House" "Auction House" is a MMORPG mechanism where Seller and Buyers (Players) are matched up thru Bidding ( done for a fixed period of time ). With an assured/protected transaction and prices being whatever the Players decided to bid on the standard items. ). Many of those things are tied to Player preferences on specific Game Worlds, and thus might vary significantly ( few fixed prices ).
Most games regulate the economy to various extents and at least to keep things stable ( when players often tend do everything possible to destabilize things ).  In this MMORPG there is the population of NPCs who can ( being part of the economy ) be counted on to act a bit more moderately. 
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Money Itself ( Rapture Dollars - R$ ) - Who Issues It, and How Much Of It :
* Money would have to be standardized ( with no Banks issuing their own ) to facilitate normal monetary interactions.  
* Minted in Rapture to a Quality that would be hard to counterfeit ( and counterfeiting WOULD be a crime --  seems there are lots of "Laws" despite the simplistic "Stick it to Ryan" theme the game designers tried to foist on us ).  
 
* The money supply would initially be set as an equivalent to surface values ( probably the American Dollar  so soon after WW2 ) and money minted to make the exchange.    Other factors would then determine how much more money would be created to facilitate normal economics in the City.
* Specie rareness can limit How Much 'money' is created 
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Precious Metals For Rapture's Money ? :
* Pro - The Money Supply was to be limited, and linking it to limited supply of Gold/Silver accomplished that.
* ??? - Surface World precious metal values would not allow one-for-one wealth conversion to R$ without outside purchase of the equivalent Real_World amount of specie.
* Con - Specie"Specie" - term defined as the materials/goods which a Money systems value is set upon purchased from The Surface subtracts from monies available to build the City.
* Pro - Money in circulation only has to be a fraction of the Economy to function as a Medium of Exchange.
* Pro - Intrinsic value only goes so far ( you cannot eat Silver/Gold ) so hoarding would be self-limiting
* Con - Silver/Gold/other ?? Coins are not conducive to large scale business transactions ( except as Bank Transfers ). Some form of Paper Money was the usual solution ( Promissory Notes exchangeable for Specie )
* Pro - Paper money used to facilitate large transfers but should be strictly limited as 'placeholder' for Specie held in 'Reserves'  ( who maintains that ? )   Conversion to specie "On Demand" was once done to PROVE the value of the Paper Money.
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"New Rapture" Banks could only offer simpler economic services, as the reconstituted City lacked scale for  needing anything more complex.  This would mainly be :
* The Safety Deposit Box service ( Heh, yet another 'City' Mission for Players is to be a City Bank guard for a period of time )
* Secure Bank Accounts to facilitate transfers of larger money amounts between larger businesses and day to day payments by ordinary citizens - The New City would organize this without any investment/interest component allowed.  
* Savings and Loan  ( by contract with NO possibility that money would be used for speculation like modern (broken) banking laws allow ).
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What form would the new (New Rapture) Ryan Dollars take ? :
* There is too much 'Old' Money floating around for it to retain any conversion value ( especially any old Paper Money ).  
* Again, once the New City became organized and needed something beyond barter and the 'Food for Labor' tokens initially utilized, a unit of exchange was created to facilitate growth of a real City, which needed business economics and thus standardization in commercial exchanges. 
 
* Newly minted 'New' money was created (again in some form hard to counterfeit).  
* A standard value of buying basic food, and paying rent/fees was established to create a trust in the new money.
Note - Old Money as specie ( gold/silver and not paper "shin plasters" ), then it could have some actual intrinsic value ( bthough you cant eat silver/gold, but that never hindered its desirability before b).  It would have definite use to pay for Later-Day purchases from The Surface ( via smugglers/any official trade b).
BTW - It is thought that Surface materials/goods were 'purchased' ( when not outright stolen ) by Sofia Lamb using gold/silver (money) found in Rapture ( band dutifully turned in by her 'The Family' b).
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Chaos Rapture CASH Still R$ (Ryan Dollars) ??? :
Big Daddies do seem to have alot of money on them. Perhaps its one of the 'incentive' schemes to motivate whats left of their minds. There do still seem to be various snacks in the vending machines -- even in the crappy chaotic parts of Rapture which WE go through in the games (BS1/BS2).
In the better more stable parts of Rapture perhaps the old Money is still used, but with those higher prices to compensate for fewer people, and all the money which would have still been laying around Rapture.
It would facilitate the MMORPG to have a monetary system with a medium of exchange, so that Players don't have to Barter for everything ( both bothersome for the Players and complicated/difficult for the programmers to implement for the NPCs who would do 'Bartering' ).
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Raptures Chaos Era/Area Currencies :
ADAM used as Currency in parts of the MMORPG's Rapture ?  Unfortunately it is a currency where its substance is frequently consumed, and thus can lead to wildly fluctuating 'value', which makes it more a type of barter commodity.  Sander Cohen brand Prest-O-Logs ( For that woodsy atmosphere in your very own fireplace !!! ) used as Currency would have the same problem ( 'Dried Fish' used as currency probably would be worse ).
What else would be accepted as a "Medium of Exchange", which would have intrinsic value, but available in far short of a highly organized/sizable Society -- which can have 'value tokens' (promissory notes) which don't have intrinsic value ( but are 'convertible on demand' ? )
* Breath Mints  - Dr Zhoidburg's Fresh Mints ( Non-EVE containing ones ) had a very good shelf life and harden into a 'sort of' resin.
* Audio Diaries ( except we found those lying abandoned everywhere, apparently unwanted .. too many )
* ADAM/EVE Syringes? ( Ditto, but maybe the BS1/BS2 settings were not 'chaotic' enough to have them easily found full )
* Strangely shaped glass Nostrum bottles ( a bit fragile to carry around, and likely not that common )
* Preserved Cat Corpses ( so THAT'S why we saw so many lying about ... ) 'Making change' might be 'disturbing' ...
What thing which cannot usually be used up ( like bullets or cigarettes can be ) might be such a unit of exchange ??
Payment for consumption requires a non-trivial stable regenerative source for the item of exchange.
The MMORPG's New Rapture would have to come up with something to be used as 'money', to allow more flexibility in expanding commerce, than barter.   Hephaestus Power/Air/Basic Rent/Labor tokens might be workable.
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AMMOphilia  ( the strange possession of ammunition objects seemingly designed for the Player to obtain ) :
So many Splicers carrying 'Rivets' ??? Yet did you ever see ONE firing the rivet gun weapon ?? ( or any normal riveting tools lying about ? ).
So why ?   Maybe people paid-off Big Daddies with them ??  Bribes to the ones (Big Daddies) jobbed with cleaning up Little Sister vomit ???
All those Ion Cells, every other Splicer in Minervas Den carried ?
"Drill" Fuel...  etc.
Some warped form of 'Money Currency for 'all of the above' ???
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"The Rapture Family" Coins :
Would have been a good detail to have those coin-operated/metered gas valves you see on British TV to power gas appliances ( water heaters/room heat/etc ... ) except by BS2 they would be all busted off the appliances  ( unless because of shortages, they had to be retained and usage doled out using 'Family Coins' or somesuch ).
Would 'The Lamb' be on these coins, or would it be Sofia_Lamb's face ( or both ... 2 sides... )?
A Three Dollar bill ? Or the old coupons for Sofia Lamb's therapy sessions became the Currency ?
With the big 'share-fest' commune Lamb was organizing, then why do all the Splicers keep money in their pockets ?
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Strange Things Splicers Might Use For 'Money' :
Besides ADAM/EVE which likely gets used up too fast (Though EVE might be alot easier to generate)
A variety of Splicer (and Survivor) 'societies' would exist out there in Rapture, some using their own  'type' of currency.  Ryan Dollar money is so prevalent as to be worthless ( at least after all the old machines have been emptied ). The coinage form had its own value as a useful material (metal) source.
* Bottle caps ?   Certain rare brands like "Fontaine Figgy Fizz" ( Note - I wrote all this long before I ever played Fallout )
* Sander Cohen Pogs/Trading Cards ?   His comic books for large transactions.
* Sticks of Chewing Gum ( handled til they are not really consumable any longer )
* The Skulls of DogsSee Movie "Blood of Heroes"
* The 'Un-Volunteer' token used in "The Crazy Lamb Realm".
* Simple barter with Hard Tack - a peculiar dog biscuit like semi-edible consumable that can also double as body armor.
* Big Daddy Bubble Lenses
* Real Cigarettes ( didn't last long as soon as one of the remaining Smuggler groups flooded the money supply ).
* Relics of Andrew Ryan ( all Fake since he isn't actually dead ).
* Accu-Vox Audio Diaries - with original recording preserved and with varying significantly in value (depending on the recording)
* Sewing Needles
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Currency in New Rapture : 
* The New Money (vs old Rapture Dollars) - now used in the New City.  New Money has begun to be produced because the rare old bottle caps being used as tokens were too few to act as money/'currency'.
* The Old Money still has its uses for the old vending machines -- If you can still find ones working with inventory in them. The old money also works as 'funny money' in some of the Casinos.
* Splicers still use ADAM, and Players may deal with Splicers using that as a 'currency'.
* ADAM is still used in parts of the 'Cure' process ( so will have value along with many other commodities )
* Other factions/independent communities can have their own money tokens ( Gallons of Moonshine in some places, Big Daddy Eye-porthole lenses in another ).
* Civic Prestige Points in the City Achievement system ... These would be tradable for certain 'favors', usually Access to limited equipment/resources/opportunities.  Do something useful for the City and earn your points ( part of the "Carrot" vs "Stick" system of getting things done ).
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Metro Tokens :
I think I found a coin slot (token slot ?) for paying for entrance to use the Metro ( located in 'Transit Hub' edge of upper level just before you do the transfer to Medical Pavilion ) which reminds me a little of the Token Gates on the New York City Subways ( and it is a bit weird since the path to 'Medical', after your little chat with Ryan is via an airlock/bulkhead rather than a Bathysphere ).
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ADAM As Money :
ADAM would still be a 'Currency' amongst the MMORPG Splicers ( particularly organized factions ).  Weaker Splicers might be deprive of it, and on losing their Plasmid powers would make them able to be coerced by those who still had the powers ( and thus would 'work' for them and be paid in other things like food and relative stability ).
Assuming most existing Splicers were the less 'unstable' ones that didn't implode and have survived the DNA disruption the early ADAM products caused ( and had major improvements added especially after Ryan took over the majority of ADAM production )
EVE might be another such material if it wasn't so easy to produce.
ADAM does get used up, so the source of the ADAM supply would be a Primary Resource to control, whether it is from Sea Slugs directly or Little Sisters ( with or without corpse 'angel' harvesting, which isn't as possible/prevalent as in the 'boom' civil war times ).
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Rapture Prices During What's Called Its 'civil war', and For New Rapture :
Things to be Understood for the BS1/BS2/etc games ( which alter for realistic prices ) :
* A simplification to have everything in whole Dollars ( don't want complications of fractions ... )
* The FORCED Player resource balancing of the computer game factors ( to prevent overabundance/cheapness of best ammo, too easy food-based regeneration, juicing up of the game payout $$$ significance, etc ... )
* Value discounted because "Money didn't matter that much anymore" -- ADAM allegedly becoming the de facto monetary specie during the 'civil war' (per the story). Unless : Ryan (likely) had held things together alot more that what is implied, ( possibly what you see is only because Fontaine walks YOU through most destabilized sections of Rapture ). ADAM though wouldn't have been an overly convenient form for basic exchange.
* The likely inflation in Prices for early 'civil war' times are being reflected ( before things got so bad money no longer had any value - too much money is laying about + too few things buyable ). Though why ANYTHING should remain in any Vending machine is a bit implausible in that case.
* The prices are for VENDING Machines, which ALWAYS (in our Real World) have a Premium Pricing to compensate for providing the customers Convenience.
* Consider Columbia's even-more-Absurd prices of Vigors in that game's strange/illogical "Vending" Machines ( when more normal prices are seen in shops ... ) -- Having monetary amounts equal to a typical US citizen's yearly income at that time (( Even with the 'Monty Haul' gaming of the Manic_Magpie container-opening 'bin diving' Player activity in the game, perverting the value of money, which was in the typical American 'dollar' units worth/valued ALOT more in the era, those many decades previous to Rapture. )) Extravagant Prices after their simplifying the game, which did not have any equivalent of ADAM as a separate game-controlled/manipulated 'currency', so prices were used to control the Player-abilities for the game's artificial upgrade progression ( buying the Magic Superpowers ).
* For the MMORPG ( where the utility of THINGS in New Rapture are usually worth more than money ) - created via the crafting/fabrication game features, where even discarded Bottle Caps from the 'golden age' have significant recycling value ( bartering between Players is allowed, Good and Services being 'paid', etc... ). But that's alot harder to unitize/balance than a "Shooter" game's currency "points". ( Note - you saw in Infinite BS weird bullion and jewelry being magically counted indirectly as money - as income to be somehow fed into those unlikely/Rapture-cloned vending machines ).
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==MONEY Before Rapture==
Ryan's Many Tasks To Do (Years) Before Rapture Could Happen :
: Ryan would have to start organizing Financing for Rapture LONG before the Construction started. 
: Lining Up Investors ( far more than Ryan's own Money was required for such a huge Project ).
: Organizing the Processes that Immigrants would use to convert their Worldly assets and transfer the wealth to Rapture.
: To Start locating Prospective Immigrants - Vetting them takes time. That includes a balanced mix to be able to achieve the eventual Self-Sufficiency goal.
: Construction Resources required alot of Up Front payments.
: Design of the City which the Immigrants would want to 'buy into' ( and the Process of 'locking in' the pieces they wanted )
: Pre-Positioning Wealth Assets into something which could be Liquidated without Loss.
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