Unusual Coins

When you think of an RPG coin you probably envision a round slug of metal struck with some issuer's insignia and about the size of a traditional spanish silver dolar or piece of eight. It's uniform, familiar, and comes in gold, silver, and copper denominations (plus electrum and platinum if you're feeling brave). It's a representation of the historical european bullion trade coin filtered through layers of modern numismatic design expectations to make a standardized unit of value that we only think about as a vague concept.

But coins are fascinating objects in their own right and deserve better than just being shoved to the side as an elided medium of exchange. Give them some attention. They don't have to be the standard fantasy bullion round and are much more fun when they're not. Money reveals a lot about the culture that uses it. The choice of shape, iconography, material, and sizes/weights aren't made on a whim. The entity that issues it matters. They show what's important, desirable, and trusted in the society. Take your coins and make them weird.

Here are a bunch of lists for doing that.

Form
The overall look of the coin that comes from how it's produced. (d6)

1 Machined. Extremely uniform pieces with tight quality control. They're made from carefully cut blanks and struck with precision dies. Very difficult to forge.

2 Stamped. Punched out of sheets of metal stock with dies that strike the design at the same time they cut the shape. Fairly regular with distinctive rounded edges where the sharp burrs from the stamping process have been filed down. May have designs struck on one of both sides depending on the dies used.

3 Cast. Mass produced in single or two-part molds that can make dozens to hundreds of coins at a time. All have marks where they were cut off the sprew and some have small imperfections from bubbles or other problems in the casting process, but ones with large mold errors are melted down and recast. Might have designs on one or both sides depending on the type of mold used.

4 Forged. Each piece is hammered out of a portion of raw metal stock by official appointed smiths and stamped with their personal hallmarks. While the finished coins all follow the same pattern there are distinct flourishes and marks associated with individual smiths and a collector's market for examples of their work as art pieces.

5 Irregular. A measured amount of metal that's melted, poured onto a smooth slab of graphite and pressed with a stamp while still molten. The finished coin looks like a wax seal, just slightly more sophisticated than a raw ingot.

6 Ingot. Pure bullion in standardized weights. They're (1d3): 1 - Cast bars struck with a hallmark to show their size. 2 - Freeform nodules in almost organic shapes stamped with a hallmark to show their size. 3 - 3D cast figurines. (Roll on the shapes table to determine what the hallmark/figurine design is.)



Style
How the coin is designed and its motif's visually rendered. (d6)

1 Strictly representational. Aiming to reproduce the real-life object as closely as possible. Extremely detailed.

2 Realistic. A faithful representation of the subject with the overall form and proportions maintained but not lifelike detail.

3 Simplified. Maintains the basic shape of the subject but with a reduced level of complexity and detail for ease of manufacture and durability. Still clearly recognizable as the object it represents.

4 Artistic. Roll again with 1d3. That style but includes decorative flourishes and embellishments that are definitely not found in the real-life object it's depicting, like art nouveau scrolls or sections of knotwork and interlace motifs.

5 Stylized. Rendered in a way that prioritizes aesthetics over faithful reproductions of the subject. The form and features of the original are still there, but highly modified and filtered through an artist's design to be fantastic.

6 Abstract. Almost completely divorced from the shape of the original object it represents. You might be able to guess what it is, but most foreigners wouldn't know what it's supposed to be if not for its name.



Size
Most historical trade coins were a little under 1.5" in diameter and weighed around 3/4 to 1 troy ounce (~23 to 31g). The listed g masses/weights are for copper coins. (d10)

1 Tiny - (1g) Confetti/sequin sized
2 Small - (1.5g) smaller than an american dime
3 Medium - (3g) American dime to penny
4 Large - (6g) American nickle to quarter
5 Half-ounce - (15g) American quarter but thick
6 Big - (30g) American half dollar
7 Palm - (45g) 1.5" to 2" in diameter
8 Huge - (60g - 90g) Playing card sized
9 Unwieldy - (120g - 360g) Fits inside the bounds of an A5 notebook cover
10 Life size - 1:1 scale with the object it represents, weight varies wildly



Material
If the material isn't copper, multiply the g amount in the size list by the factor listed for the metal to get the new mass. (d20)

1 Copper
2 Silver (x1.16)
3 Gold (x2.1)
4 Electrum (x1.63)
5 Platinum (x2.3)
6 Iridium (x2.5)
7 Meteoric iron (x0.9)
8 Iron (x0.9)
9 Steel (x0.9)
10 Pewter (x0.7)
11 Bronze (x0.8)
12 Brass (x0.8)
13 Tin (x0.7)
14 Nickle (x1)
15 Zinc (x0.8)
16 Aluminum (x0.3)
17 Titanium (x0.5)
18 Vanadium (x0.66)
19 Tungsten (x2.1)
20 Lead (x1.2)



Issuer
Who mints, releases, and guarantees the coin's metal content and purity. (d20)

1 The Emperor/High King (Imperial Household)
2 The King (Royal Household)
3 Parliament/The Senate
4 The Central Mint (an independent organization contracted by the government to mint a set amount of currency as ordered)
5 One noble house (authorized to mint coins by exclusive hereditary right)
6 The Army/Navy
7 The Church/Temple
8 The University/Mage's College
9 The individual states/provinces
10 The individual cities
11 Individual nobles (each have their own flourishes on the basic design and own reputations for quality)
12 Guilds
13 Banks
14 Merchants (both companies and individual businessmen/traders)
15 Licensed refiners (individuals and small to mid-sized operations that process metals from ore or salvage and mint on site with official warrant)
16 Moneychangers (produce their own coins as well as exchange)
17 Private citizens (commoners with a reputation for integrity)
18 A foreign country/authority
19 An ancient/lost civilization (existing coins are reused and new ones aren't minted)
20 No one/unknown (new coins appear as needed, worn pieces are taken and replaced with fresh ones during the night)



Shape
For geometric shapes consider variations like sharp/rounded/truncated corners, convex/concave curved sides, notches/bumps along the edges, etc. For objects, these are categories. Consider the full range of things they could be (like a 'fish' could be a minnow, swordfish, tuna, flounder, etc.). (d12.12)

1.1 Oblongs/ovals
1.2 Triangles
1.3 Squares
1.4 Rectangles/bars
1.5 Narrow strips/rods
1.6 Diamonds
1.7 Trapezoids
1.8 Pentagons
1.9 Hexagons
1.10 Cross/x-shape
1.11 Triqueta
1.12 Stars/starbursts
2.1 Semicircles
2.2 Lemniscate
2.3 Spirals
2.4 Knot patterns
2.5 Pierced lattices/mesh
2.6 Crescents/moon phases
2.7 Scythes/sickles
2.8 Axe heads
2.9 Hammers
2.10 Anvils
2.11 Nails/rail spikes
2.12 Needles
3.1 Shears/scissors
3.2 Wagon wheels
3.3 Ships/boats
3.4 Anchors
3.5 Paddles/oars
3.6 Fishing weights/bobbers
3.7 Fishhooks/lures
3.8 Nets
3.9 Coils of rope
3.10 Lanterns
3.11 Bolts/bales of cloth
3.12 Kites
4.1 Hourglasses
4.2 Bottles
4.3 Teapots
4.4 Spoons
4.5 Coffins
4.6 Horseshoes
4.7 Buckles
4.8 Locks
4.9 Keys
4.10 Chalices
4.11 Pottery/vases
4.12 Crowns
5.1 Masks
5.2 Hats
5.3 Wreaths
5.4 Bouquets
5.5 Finger rings
5.6 Tuning forks
5.7 Bells
5.8 Drums
5.9 Flutes/pipes
5.10 Harps/lyres
5.11 String instruments
5.12 Plectrums
6.1 Knives/daggers/swords
6.2 Double-bladed axe/labrys
6.3 Spears
6.4 Bows
6.5 Arrowheads
6.6 Shields
6.7 Helms
6.8 Castles/towers/walls
6.9 Step pyramids/temples
6.10 Skulls
6.11 Bones
6.12 Antlers
7.1 Horns
7.2 Teeth
7.3 Tusks
7.4 Skins/hides/furs
7.5 Hooves
7.6 Bird talons clutching something
7.7 Feathers/wings
7.8 Eggs
7.9 Hands/handprints
7.10 People/human silhouettes
7.11 Mushrooms/fungi
7.12 Trees
8.1 Acorns/seeds/nuts
8.2 Grains (wheat sheafs, corn cobs, rice ears, individual kernels)
8.3 Fruit
8.4 Gourds
8.5 Flowers
8.6 Leaves/ferns
8.7 Sticks/twigs/logs
8.8 Bees/wasps
8.9 Moths/butterflies/cocoons/caterpillars
8.10 Grasshoppers/crickets
8.11 Cicadas
8.12 Beetles
9.1 Stickbugs
9.2 Mantises
9.3 Centipedes/millipedes
9.4 Spiders
9.5 Scorpions
9.6 Worms
9.7 Snails
9.8 Cephalopods (octopi, squids, nautiluses, cuttlefish, etc)
9.9 Eels
9.10 Shellfish (crabs, crayfish, lobsters, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, etc)
9.11 Shells
9.12 Coral
10.1 Starfish/urchins
10.2 Seahorses
10.3 Fish
10.4 Sharks
10.5 Whales/porpoises/dolphins
10.6 Frogs/toads/tadpoles/spawn
10.7 Newts/salamanders
10.8 Lizards
10.9 Tortoises/turtles
10.10 Snakes
10.11 Birds of prey
10.12 Songbirds
11.1 Chickens/pheasants
11.2 Ducks/waterfowl
11.3 Herons/wading birds
11.4 Seabirds
11.5 Bats
11.6 Cats/kittens
11.7 Dogs/hounds
11.8 Horses
11.9 Donkeys/mules
11.10 Sheep/goats
11.11 Pigs/boars
11.12 Cattle/oxen/bison
12.1 Camels/llama/alpaca
12.2 Deer/elk/moose
12.3 Rabbits/hares
12.4 Mice/rats
12.5 Lions/big cats
12.6 Wolves
12.7 Dragons
12.8 Flames/fire
12.9 Waves/rivers/waterfalls
12.10 Mountains
12.11 Clouds
12.12 Comets/meteors