History 15: Currency in Mercia

As in most cultures, Minecraft or Real, currency has always played a huge part in the development of civilizations. This is most true for Mercia, where in every age except the First, there was some form of currency. Whether it was for taxes, weapons, food, or houses, there has always been a necessecity for transacticting goods. Today we'll go through the ages and explore what each age used as their currency of choice and how they used it to further the world to where we are today.

Starting in the First Age, when Mercia was nothing more than a training ground for the Heroes' of old, currency was never seen as anything more than a waste of time. The Heroes' primarily traded in time and favors, rather than in Gold or items. They were busy building their own respective civilizations and had no need to barter amongst themselves; but this didn't stop some from trying. The earliest known case of trading was from Phinom2, who had begun construction on a massive wheat farm. He was creating thousands of loaves of Bread a day and attempting to wholesale them to the other Heroes' to supply their people with food.

This will lead us into the 2nd Age, when the power from the Gods' had left the world and refugees from Cat Kingdom had flocked over to the island of Mercia and began building their own homes and businesses. This is when the local leaders of all the districts came together with a plan to stop unfair trading and theft. They decided that anyone, lowborn or high, could start a business and their currency would be supplied primarily from the Mine of Mercia in the form of Gold. While on paper this sounded like a sure-fire way to begin an economy, it had it's problems.

Mercias' mine was unfit to supply the amount of raw materials needed to sustain a nation as large as Mercia, and with competition from Skargness slowly approaching, they knew they needed to search for another source. If you've read the previous histories, you know where this source came from. Some of Mercias' more profound thinkers had discovered a way to create large amounts of Gold in a more efficient way than ever before. This is how the great walled city of Sancre' Tor was formed and Gold began being distributed among the world. While to the cities, even a block of Gold was considered valuable, the founders of Sancre Tor' were creating so much that they would trade a massive amount of it for something as trivial as Robin Hood Boots, which were valued at 2 ingots.

Following the Obsidian Crisis and the fall of Sancre Tor', the perfect amount of Gold had been spread into the world. There was now enough new Gold coming in that it would satisfy the ever-growing economy without causing inflation. This lead to the great Economic age and more sophisticated businesses began opening. Hotels on every corner, chain restaurants began to open and The Stock Exchange was opened to the public. Business was booming, but like the founders of Sancre Tor', this wasn't enough for some. A few wealthy members began pushing for a new currency to eliminate the amount of Gold from the streets.(edited)

This new currency of the Third Age had come, but it was hated by most of the residents who saw it as nothing more than a new tax disguised as a blessing. The Royal Bank Notes, as they were called, could be obtained from the K tower in exchange for Gold. Few notes were ever obtained and the idea was considered a massive failure, leaving Gold as the primary currency until the fall of the 3rd Age.

The Fourth Age will go down in history as the most destructive, dangerous, and counterproductive time of Mercia. The looting and mass murdering of citizens and business owners meant that Gold no longer carried value to any, especially considering that most businesses has closed down shop. The new currency became the sword, and most received a major bargain through this method. It wasn't until the nearing of the 5th Age that a much more sustainable and fair currency would be available. Molidus, as it's called, is the current currency and has carried value despite the mass duping going on. It's given out through the remnants of government enterprise and players have found it a safer alternative to any other form of currency.

Following the largest grief of Mercia by Apex Hosting, Molidus had been reverted back to nothingness in spite of it's rocky start. The world suffered a massive blow due to this setback, but even with that being said, Molidus is still considered valuable among the Fourth Agers.