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Why is Bronn

Master of Coin?

I understand he became a Lord since Tyrion promised that to him, but he was never promised the role of

Master of Coin or a seat on the Small Council.

In fact, he has no apparent skills that suggest he's good at that particular job because

Tyrion once had to explain loans to him.

Additionally, he's not a particularly serious person, he's politically inexperienced, and perhaps most importantly he is morally dubious. It just seems to make no sense from all perspectives, so why was he awarded such an important position?

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    He wouldn't be the first incompetent Master of Coin to grace the council. Judge all the previous masters of coin yourself
    – Aegon
    Commented May 20, 2019 at 17:03
  • Related question on the Movies & TV site: Why did the Crown allow giving Highgarden to Bronn? Commented May 20, 2019 at 17:07
  • 1
    In Season 7, Jaime and Bronn attacked Highgarden because it has the most gold. They sacked it and captured enough gold to repay the debt to the Iron Bank, but it is never made clear how much gold might have remained in Highgarden. If it is still the richest holding then it will providing most of the funding anyway so why not make the Lord of Highgarden the master of coin? But it's not clear if Highgarden is still the wealthiest so I'm not offering this as an official answer.
    – krb
    Commented May 20, 2019 at 17:15
  • 5
    @krb Highgarden's wealth comes from her famously fertile lands, gardens, trade levies and taxes levied from the largest population in all the 7 Kingdoms.
    – Aegon
    Commented May 20, 2019 at 17:31
  • 1
    Indeed, it seems from Tyrion and Bronn's conversation that Bronn is going to be funding the kingdom, so perhaps being Master of Coin was Bronn's price for that. It makes sense, if a good chunk of his money is going into rebuilding the kingdom, he has a vested interest in the role that's responsible for seeing he gets that money back.
    – delinear
    Commented May 21, 2019 at 9:59

2 Answers 2

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Probably because he is Lord of Highgarden

We know that the Tyrell's were the richest House in Westeros once the Lannister gold mines ran out.

Tywin: Our last working mine ran dry three years ago.
Game of Thrones - S04E05: First of His Name

Highgarden is connected by highway to the three largest cities in Westeros (King's Landing, Oldtown, and Lannisport). The Reach (of which Highgarden is the capital) has the biggest economy, is the most populous region, and is one of the major breadbasket regions of the Seven Kingdoms (along with the Riverlands).

As the most fertile region of the Seven Kingdoms, we grow the lion's share of the grains and fruit that feed this country.
Margaery Tyrell in Game of Throne's Season 3 Histories & Lore

So between the income from feeding the rest of the kingdom and taxing everyone who lives in The Reach, Highgarden has a massive and continuous, source of income.

With this in mind, it stands to reason that Bronn is now probably the single most wealthy man in Westeros, and as such to be Master of Coin is a small leap.

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  • To add to this answer, Lord Tyrell was Master of Coin prior to Bronn. So Bronn was at least the second Lord of Highgarden to be made Master of Coin
    – MBorg
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 13:39
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The people placed on the Council under the reign of Bran were people that viewers were already familiar with, were allied with Tyrion, Jon, or the Starks, and could at least somewhat fulfil that role.

Bronn was no stranger to viewers, and was for the most part an ally to Tyrion.

Bronn, whilst not explicitly showing any finance skill in the show, had been associated with money/coins throughout the show. He was a sellsword; it was his nature to do things for payment. And through his service, he rose from a simple sellsword to Lord of Highgarden, greatly increasing his own finance. One of the key reasons, if not the key reason, why Littlefinger became Master of Coin in the first place was that when he was customs officer at Gulltown, he increased revenues tenfold. Bronn had increased his own finance by far more than what Littlefinger did to get the position, demonstrating his strong ability to earn revenue (alas without traditional financing skills). Given his strong association with money and how much he's gained, he would be somewhat able to fulfil the role of Master of Coin.

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