Folklore Friday

Currency

Greetings, Fellow Adventurers,

It’s another Folklore Friday!

As you know every Friday, we’ll embark on a journey through ancient tales, hidden myths, and mysterious legends that make up the fantasy worlds. Folklore Fridays will dive into the stories that shape the heart of our epic adventures.

So grab your sword, light your lantern, and prepare to journey into realms of fantasy and lore. Who knows what we’ll uncover?

Feeling generous? ✨Want to support my work? ✨Consider donating a coffee to keep me energized and the creativity flowing.

Your contribution is greatly appreciated. 🙏

This week’s exploration is Currency!

Don’t overlook the role of currency in your worldbuilding. A well-thought-out economic system adds realism, drives plot, and reveals cultural values.

Whether it’s credits, gems, or barter-based trade, currency shapes how characters survive, interact, and pursue power.

What does your society value?

Who controls the wealth?

What kind of currency do they use?

Can you counterfeit it?

This grounds your world and opens narrative opportunities for: smugglers, corrupt characters, debt collectors, or slave traders.

Even small details like a coin with a tyrant/leader’s face (political) or an alien currency made of something that might be considered ordinary like shells or rocks can enrich your setting. Currency may seem mundane, but in fantasy sci-fi fiction, it can become a source of magic, rebellion, and even revolution.

Tip: Don’t just rename dollars. Build a system that only makes sense in your world, and why it makes sense. If done right, your currency won’t just fund your story. It’ll define it.

For example:

In the Fallout series they used Nuka-cola Bottle Caps.

In Metro 2033 they used Ammunition.

The Star Wars and Star Trek series both used Credits.

Horizon Zero Dawn used Metal Shards.

Dark Souls series uses Souls. (how grim!)

✨Can you think of any other currencies used in video games or sci fi worlds that are not gold?✨

Submit your answer below⬇️

Money can tell your readers what matters. If your society trades in time, memories, or emotions, that reveals something profound about how they think. Do they hoard happiness? Can love be bought? Is age literally taxed? A unique currency forces readers to rethink economics and morality. Did you see the episode of Red Dwarf called M-Corp where Lister has to pay for things with his life!

Image Source: Red Dwarf Fandom

When your protagonist is down to their last soul stone or risks smuggling credits, the stakes feel fresh. These aren't just dollars with a new name, they’re tangible, symbolic, and often dangerous. Your world starts playing by its own rules, and readers have to lean in to keep up.

It can make your world feel immersive, like a war-ravaged realm reverting to ammunition, or a merchant trading in bottle caps, can make your setting feel alive and lived-in. The more distinct your economy, the more believable your world becomes.

In short: money talks.

In my Shalvasan series currency is gems. The common Emerald and the rare Ruby. I studied how these gems formed and told about the planet forming and how mineral rich asteroids collided with the planet before the Shalvasan existed creating various deposits. Here is an example of that from one of my books:

“Millions of years ago, when Shalvasan was a young planet forming, it was barraged with meteors, due to the binary star system being young and violent, causing a magnetic influence that swayed meteors with a certain chemical component to crash on one side of the young planet and some to the other. This resulted in a heavy deposit of emeralds on one side of the planet and much rarer rubies on the other.”

“Ka’nar soon discovered their land lay upon a rare ruby deposit and commerce formed although it was crude and unruly.”

-Ka’nar Part II

I have glass faceted gems of red and green to be used in the Shalvasan gambling card game I created. But we'll explore that in another Folklore Friday, where we'll dive into real-world items you can actually create.