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Fictional Currency: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Money is an important part of daily life, and fiction is no different. And fictional setting often use fictional currency.
Inventing a fictional currency helps establish a setting as unique, and when done well it builds immersion. Of course, when done poorly, it can have the opposite effect — having an unexpected or unexplained reference to a made-up word that means "money" can be confusing or distracting. Often, a fictional currency will be roughly equivalent in value to a real-life one; this saves the writer the effort of having to do conversion rates mentally. The most common targets for this treatment tend to be the dollar or the yen. This is occasionally explicit, as with the [[Trigun|double dollar]] or the [[Shadowrun|nuyen]]. The zeni (or [[Spell My Name
Compare [[Call a Rabbit
▲Compare [[Call a Rabbit A Smeerp]], though [[Justified]] in that one generally ''expects'' there to be different names for different currencies. Contrast [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard]], where the money used isn't a currency at all, but precious metals are used instead; the two may overlap when different names are given to the appropriate coins. Examples are often a [[Global Currency]]. [[We Will Spend Credits in The Future]] is a [[Science Fiction]]-specific subtrope.
{{examples}}
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Trigun]]'' uses double dollars (and c-cents are mentioned once); as expected, they're generally equivalent to dollars.
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' uses woolongs, which are roughly equal to yen. Its symbol (₩) is even similar to the yen symbol (¥), with the Y replaced by a W -- ₩ is incidentally also the currency symbol for the North Korean won and South Korean won.
* ''[[
* ''[[Bleach]]'' uses kan, which serves as Soul Society's official currency.
* ''[[One Piece]]'' has Berries used throughout the ocean-going world.
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* ''[[Naruto]]'' uses ryō, which [[Word of God]] states has a 10:1 exchange rate with yen.
* ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' uses Jewels.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In ''[[Groo the Wanderer]]'', kopins seem to be a [[Global Currency]].
* ''[[Bionicle]]'' has widgets.
* The unit of currency in ''[[The Sword and
==
▲* The unit of currency in ''[[The Sword and The Sorcerer (Film)|The Sword and The Sorcerer]]'' is the Talon. Which coincidentally -- or perhaps not coincidentally -- is also the name of the movie's hero.
▲== [[Literature]] ==
* New Yen in the ''[[Sprawl Trilogy]]''
* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'', wizarding Britain uses galleons, sickles and knuts; overlaps with [[Gold Silver Bronze Standard]]. One galleon is about equal to £5.
* ''[[Gor]]'' has Tarn Disks/Tarsks, which use the [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard]].
* Played with in ''[[The
:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also mentions a few [[Global Currency|galactic currencies]], all of which have fallen into disfavor: The Altairian Dollar (due to inflation), and the Galactic Piu (due to being equal to 8 triangular rubber coins 6000 miles on a side that no one is rich enough to afford).
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' has [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard|dragons and stags]] after the [[Animal Motifs]] used by the former and current dynasties.
* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' has three terms for coinage: penny, mark and crown. However, these can be made of [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard|different materials]], with a gold mark, say, being worth more than a silver crown. All told, because coppers are always pennies and golds never are, there are six different varieties of coin in use, with their exact relative values differing by country of origin.
* ''[[
== [[Live Action TV]] ==▼
* In the ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' universe, the Klingon Empire's currency is the darsek. The Bajorans use a currency called lita, and the Cardassian Union has the lek. The Karemma, part of the Dominion, use dirak. The [[Star Trek Novel Verse]] has added several others, including Tarkaelean notch-rocks, Gorn szeket, and Breen sakto.▼
** Naturally, your local Ferengi currency exchanger is more than happy to turn all of this into gold-pressed latinum, in easy-to-handle denominations of slips, strips, bars, and so on. Note that the gold is considered worthless, it's the liquid latinum inside that holds value. ▼
* Thanks to [[All There in the Manual|approved tie-in material]], we know the currency for many of the alien nations on ''[[Babylon Five]]'': Abbai use gy, nori and chuk, Brakiri use grull or credits, Drazi use tok, Grome use vorl, Hurr use fla, Llort use yat, heek and molat, Markab used galot and Yolu use ogo. Hyach and pak'ma'ra use a barter system instead. The Centauri use ducats and the Humans use credits. No word on the Narn or Minbari.▼
* At least three million years in the past of ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]'', humanity used the 'dollarpound' ('buckquid' for short).▼
▲* In the ''[[
▲** Naturally, your local Ferengi currency exchanger is more than happy to turn all of this into gold-pressed latinum, in easy-to-handle denominations of slips, strips, bars, and so on. Note that the gold is considered worthless, it's the liquid latinum inside that holds value.
▲* Thanks to [[All There in the Manual|approved tie-in material]], we know the currency for many of the alien nations on ''[[Babylon
▲* At least three million years in the past of ''[[
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Monopoly]]'' money may be the [[Trope Codifier]]. In some
* Nuyen (¥) in ''[[Shadowrun]]''.
* The "Bank Note" in the legendarily bad RPG ''[[The Spawn of Fashan]]''.
== [[Toys]] ==
* Widgets in ''[[Bionicle]]''.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** The ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' spinoff games use munny instead, however. Strangely enough, instead of coins, it takes the forms of yellow octahedrons.
* The iPod tactical game ''Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes'' uses Luna
* ''[[
* The ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Suikoden]]'' games' currency is the potch.
* ''[[Nethack]]'' has zorkmids.
* ''[[
* Zenny in the ''[[Breath of Fire]]'' series, as well as most other Capcom games: the symbol is generally a Z with vertical lines through it.
* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' uses meat as currency, while precious metals are [[Vendor Trash]].
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' call their [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard|gold coins]] "Septims" after the imperial dynasty.
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* ''[[Legend of Mana]]'' uses "lucre", but not the rest of the [[World of Mana]].
* ''[[Fusion Fall]]'' uses taro.
* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' uses [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard|sovereigns]].
* ''[[Tales
* ''[[Star Ocean]]'' and its sequels use Fol.
* ''[[Maple Story]]'' uses mesos.
* Subverted in the Mario [[RPG|RPGs]] ''[[Super Mario RPG]]'', ''[[Paper Mario]]'' and ''[[Mario and Luigi]]'' with the Coins. While coins are common in the real world, apparently they are their own currency in Mushroom Kingdom and any adjacent places.▼
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' follows the [[Gold-Silver-Copper Standard]] for the most part, but Goblins use something called "macaroons", which may actually be paper money.
* ''[[Ultima]]'' games usually have gold coins, but ''[[Ultima VII Part II]]'' takes place on another continent, where three city states have different coinage each. Warlike Monitor uses monetari (huge golden coins), beauty-fixated Fawn uses filari (small gems encased in glass), and magical Moonshade uses guilders (enchanted glowing chips). The exchange rates are fixed, but different moneychangers take different fee for exchange.▼
▲* Subverted in the Mario [[RPG
▲* ''[[Ultima]]'' games usually have gold coins, but ''[[Ultima VII Part
** ''[[Ultima VIII]]'', which takes place on another world, uses obsidian coins.
* The ''[[Freddi Fish]]'' series has purple sea urchins. There are at least five variations, all of which are more valuable: red sea urchins (worth two purple ones), blue sea urchins (worth three purple ones), gold sea urchins (worth four purple ones), and orange sea urchins (worth more than four purple ones; exact value unknown).
▲== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The currency on ''[[Invader Zim]]''
▲* ''[[Chowder]]'' has dollops.
▲* The currency on ''[[Invader Zim]]'' -- seemingly both on Earth and in the Irken empire - is "moneys", as in "that costs six moneys."
* ''[[Tripping the Rift]]'' has kronigs.
* ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'' has dreckles.
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* The Fire Nation in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' uses a currency called "Bǎn".
* ''[[The Flintstones]]'' has clams. Which are usually literal clams.
* ''[[
* Various incarnations of ''[[My Little Pony]]'' franchise have had their own currencies:
** ''[[My Little Pony Tales]]'' had jangles.
** ''[[My Little Pony:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Money Tropes]]
[[Category:
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