Gelder

The **Gelder** (symbol: **𝒢**, commonly: **g**) was the first standardized currency in the developed world and was widely used for centuries due to its simple conversion and ease of manufacture.

## History

### Development

The Gelder was first introduced to Arania by dwarven forgemasters working under contract with the Aranian government to create a better national currency. The forgemasters minted silver coins called silduur first, hexagonal pieces with a hole in the center to run a string through the center for ease of carry. This was quickly filled and the coin made slightly smaller as coin purses were seen as more practical and desireable in larger cities do to string cutters, thieves who would quickly cut the string that held the coins causing them to spill everywhere.

Shortly after approval of the weight and metal content, the silduur coins were put in circulation. Their value was based on a silver-to-gold standard, which eventually proved to be confusing for some of the newer merchants looking to make their riches. Misinformation was spread in some small cases, leading to drastically undervalued sales of important goods. In just a few short years, the simple lack of education among a portion of the Aranian population led to a brief economic downturn.

To fix this, an unnamed scholar within the Aranian government proposed a new standard based on units of ten. This scholar is commonly referred to as "the Arithican", a name based on the fringe religion of Arithicans who believe that counting and numbers are the key to divinity.

In addition to the lack of education, many farmers rejected the currency as it provided little value to them, as there was no trustworthy standardization. Taxes were collected in the form of offerings occasionally, and the government felt things would be more efficient and taxes more fairly paid for if the population was in full support and use of a currency.

Taking the base 10 system and applying it to coinage, the Aranian government then set the value of a single pound of grain against the weight of gold under this system. Forgemasters also began creating coins made of alloys, rather than pure copper, silver, or gold. Four standardized coins emerged from this system, each valued at 10 times the previous coin's value. Thus the Gelder was created.

### Usage and Spread

The Gelder became popular, as it was easy to use and made trade far easier. The Gelder was soon adopted by neighboring kingdoms and civilizations, and eventually replaced other coinage systems.

Curious enough, a few merchants were able to profit off of the popularity of the Gelder by actually investing in older forms of currency that used metal. These merchants would trade Gelders for metallic currencies at a fraction of their value, melt down the pure metals, and then profit when they traded the metals back for Gelders. Soon this was outlawed in Arania and neighboring nations.

The popularity of the Gelder was driven primarily by the adoption and acceptance of the currency by farmers, whether they wanted to or not. The Aranian government required levies and taxes be paid in coin, or further fines or punishments would be instituted. This drove the people to use the currency, inflating the value as more people depended on it. After two generations, the Gelder was ingrained in Aranian culture and its surroundings.

Eventually, the currency would be taken across seas and introduced to new cultures as well. It was difficult at first, being undervalued by locals due to the lack in purity of the metal. This friction would spark trade wars and bloody conflicts, eventually resulting in the adoption of the Gelder in most places.

## Notation and Terminology

The Gelder uses the symbol **𝒢** in its notation when writing. Commonly this is simplified to the symbol **g**.

Over the years many nicknames were given to the four coins of the Gelder. The official names for each are:

* Gelder (1g)
* Tenpiece (10g)
* Decan (100g)
* Pithin (1000g)

The most common nicknames for the coins are "Tenth" (1g), "Tenner" (10g), "Tops" (100g), and "Talley" (1000g). This has gained the Gelder as a currency the nickname "Four T's" or "Fortees". In Arania it is common to hear a merchant declare prices in fortees rather than Gelder.

In international trade, many will use archaic terminology to describe the coins. Copper meaning 1g, Silver meaning 10g, Gold meaning 100g, and Platinum (1000g).

The Gelder is a small, round, copper colored coin with a pressing of a bushel of wheat on the face side and an ox on the tail side. A Tenpiece is a hexagonal coin, similar to the original silduur coins used by Arania. A Tenpiece is silver in color, and uses the profile view of Prince Aran III as the coin's face, and an ivy crown with the founding date of Arania as the tail. The Decan is a square coin gold in color. The image of a lion is pressed to the face side and a shield to the tail. The Pithin coin is the largest of the four, round in shape and a white-silver color. King Aran I is pressed on the face side or the coin, and a royal crown on the tail side.