Aerarium Imperialis

The Aerarium Imperialis is the Adeptus Administratum department that serves as the treasury of the Imperium and issues its inter-planetary currency, the Throne Gelt. In addition the Aerarium Imperalis is responsible for the byzantine task of setting exchange rates between the countless local and sector currencies in use throughout the Imperium and the Throne Gelt, as well as assigning values to different goods. Thus, the Aerarium functions as the Imperium's main financial authority and has a significant affect on interstellar trade, although the largely decentralized and feudal economy of the Imperium means that the overall role in Imperial society is minor. The difficulties of regulating the different currencies in use have not been overcome by the 41st Millennium, and the Aerarium often spends decades trying to regulate certain currencies, by which point they often become no longer in circulation or much lower in value than they had been seen when the process began. The one role that the Aerarium has managed to carry out effectively is the minting of Throne Gelts.
Since its creation the Aerarium has been stuck in what many by the 41st Millennium regard as an unwinnable battle, but that the department has to carry on the struggle nonetheless. It is considered not possible for a civilization on the scale of the Imperium to exist without a common currency and understanding of value for items shared across systems, while at the same time it was recognized as being very difficult to maintain a single currency that would have the same value everywhere.
The department is led by the Prefecto Aerarii, which initially has been an office held by a single individual for one year before being rotated—a precaution taken by the Emperor to take into account that the head of the financial agency can become corrupted. However, by M41 this policy has been largely stopped as the more recent Prefecto Aerarii have held office for consecutive years, as it is viewed as necessary to increase efficiency.
Category:Adepts