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Questions tagged [money]

This tag is for questions about how money is used in-universe in a work of science fiction or fantasy.

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130 votes
14 answers
18k views

Why and how did the Star Trek Universe evolve to a cashless/commerce-less society?

I've always wondered this ... I recall fleeting references to the lack of a money system in TNG (something about abandoning the quest for material wealth), but was it ever explained why and how and ...
Slick23's user avatar
  • 5,953
94 votes
10 answers
45k views

Why Did Gringotts Pay Out for Harry's Firebolt?

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black anonymously sends Harry a Firebolt broom after the demise of Harry's Nimbus 2000 in the Whomping Willow. At the end of PoA, Sirius writes Harry a letter and ...
Slytherincess's user avatar
57 votes
9 answers
48k views

Why can latinum not be replicated?

According to Memory Alpha, Latinum cannot be replicated. What is the reason for that?
Thomas's user avatar
  • 573
48 votes
3 answers
9k views

What monetary system did Hobbits use in the Shire?

In Book I, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wrote, "Just why Mr. Frodo was selling his beautiful hole was even more debatable than the price." After appreciating this example of (...
Invisible Trihedron's user avatar
47 votes
4 answers
85k views

How much money did Harry Potter have?

So, we know Harry inherited his money from James. By descriptions from the books, it looks like he had enough money to spend during his school years with plenty to spare for later life. Is there an ...
Janoma's user avatar
  • 7,092
45 votes
3 answers
8k views

Time as money movie

I'm looking for the name of a short black and white movie in which people were given an allotted amount of time at birth, and used that time to buy things. For example, a can of beans in the store ...
Walt Patrick's user avatar
43 votes
6 answers
13k views

Why does no one take a fallen enemy's sword to sell it in Game of thrones?

Different characters say more than once that a sword forged in a castle is a pretty expensive thing. But nobody, even a totally broke person would loot a defeated enemy to take his weapon and sell it. ...
alex.k's user avatar
  • 603
31 votes
4 answers
7k views

What is the bank system in Game of Thrones and why is it legitimate to exist?

Right now, I am in the beginning of the season 4. I haven't read the books themselves, but I understand that the series is pretty close to the original content. What makes me curious is the financial ...
SPIRiT_1984's user avatar
  • 3,325
27 votes
1 answer
23k views

What is one Galactic Credit worth?

I am doing a project for school and was wondering what Star Wars credits are worth. I've found out what it would cost to fill up the Millennium Falcon but that doesn't help me to estimate what the ...
Kevin Clark's user avatar
26 votes
2 answers
3k views

What is the reason for such a strange exchange rate in the wizard currency in Harry Potter?

There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. This seems very impractical, as both numbers are primes. It might be an out-of-universe parody of how old muggle money was divided before ...
vsz's user avatar
  • 12.1k
25 votes
2 answers
4k views

What was the first science fiction work to use "credits" as currency?

I've only been able to trace it back to Asimov's "Foundation" series, first started in 1942. Anyone know if this trend of currency naming goes back any further?
Faren22's user avatar
  • 251
20 votes
2 answers
3k views

Does the wizarding world have a concept of loans?

As we see there's Gringotts bank in London. There may also be one in Egypt (This is my assumption as Bill Weasley was sent to Egypt and as he worked with Gringotts, I assume they do have some branches ...
Shreedhar's user avatar
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20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Are the wizard coins in the Harry Potter books international?

The Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts are described as the currency of wizards. I don't remember seeing anything about any other currency used by wizards. Is there such currency? Are Galleons, Sickles, and ...
vsz's user avatar
  • 12.1k
18 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is Quark really supposed to have a negative asset balance?

In DS9 Season 4 Episode "Body Parts", Quark believes he's going to die, and is preoccupied with settling his debts. That means he has more debt than liquid assets. However - we know Ferengi, ...
einpoklum's user avatar
  • 10.1k
18 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the historical origin of a "Silver Stag"? Why do Golden dragons remain in circulation after Robert's Rebellion?

In Westeros there are three coins: Copper Stars (The Seven-Pointed Star is the symbol of the Faith of the Seven.) Silver Stags (The Stag is the sigil of house Baratheon.) Gold Dragons (The Dragon is ...
raznagul's user avatar
  • 843
18 votes
2 answers
1k views

A Starfleet officer walks into Quark's [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How to reconcile the cashless Human\Federation society with human traders and merchants ...and tries to buy a drink. From You are Cordially Invited, Season 6, Episode 7: ...
CamelBlues's user avatar
  • 3,307
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are groats defined in Game of Thrones?

Just moved on to Book 4 A Feast for Crows and found this word sticking out at me in a few chapters: Groat. It pops up twice in one chapter with Cersei saying something like "so-and-so is not ...
Dacio's user avatar
  • 3,726
16 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why is latinum pressed in gold?

Why is latinum pressed in gold to make "gold-pressed latinum"? Which is worth more? Is it because latinum is softer than gold (just a guess)?
Hack-R's user avatar
  • 7,219
16 votes
2 answers
4k views

Would Gringotts convert Wizard money to Muggle money?

The books make it clear that they offer the reverse service (see the following question: What Do the Gringotts Goblins Do With Muggle Money?). According to the canonical answer to that question, Q: ...
wyvern's user avatar
  • 1,247
15 votes
3 answers
957 views

Plutonium in currency?

Trying to think of where I read this - there was a society that put actual plutonium in the coinage, as a means to encourage people not to be too greedy; if one hoarded too many coins, they'd go ...
JustJeff's user avatar
  • 2,467
14 votes
1 answer
727 views

When did the writers of Star Trek decide the Federation doesn't use money?

As I watch old Star Trek episodes on H & I, I'm not sure what to make of Kirk's frequent references to money: is he being humorous or had the writers not yet decided the Federation doesn't use ...
Robert Soupe's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
10k views

Why do the Weasleys go to Egypt twice in the same year?

During Christmas in Harry's second year Mr and Mrs Weasley embark on a cross-continental trip to visit Bill in Egypt. Harry found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact that he, ...
The Dark Lord's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
942 views

Does DS9's "Prodigal Daughter" imply that Trill is not a Federation world?

In DS9's "Prodigal Daughter", Morica Bilby is asking money of the Tigan family. As the Federation gave up on the concept of currency, does this imply that Trill is not a Federation world, hence its ...
Ramon Snir's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
1k views

In Niven's Known Space, what currency are the Outsiders interested in?

I seem to remember something a Puppeteer (Nessus?) said about paying them with "Stars". I couldn't find any mention of this in Wikipedia, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly.
itsadok's user avatar
  • 383
13 votes
1 answer
10k views

How much money does Alfred Pennyworth earn?

Per Batman Wikia Alfred starts serving Waynes to honor the dying wish of his father and becomes Bruce's legal guardian following the deaths of his parents (Thomas and Martha left a will). Is ...
HBhatia's user avatar
  • 4,647
13 votes
1 answer
6k views

Who is the wealthiest wizard in the Harry Potter universe?

Economics in the Harry Potter world is weird, not least because there's a single bank controlling all the money. But who has (or needs) the biggest chamber at Gringotts? Who is the richest wizard?
janisz's user avatar
  • 2,826
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why do they still use gold dragons as the currency in Westeros? [duplicate]

So I assume the Targaryens created the golden dragons when they united the seven kingdoms. I assume it's named after their sigil, and the silver stags after house Baratheon. With Robert Baratheon ...
Edwinhai's user avatar
  • 147
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there any canon indication that Galleons and Sickles are actually made of pure Gold and Silver?

A large number of questions and discussions on Wizarding economy seem to take it for granted that Galleons and Sickles are made of pure Gold and Silver respectively, but is there actually any ...
Shisa's user avatar
  • 12.7k
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

How do employees of the Ministry of Magic get paid?

Like Muggles, wizards do have to work or have some other source of income (family money, like the Potters and Malfoys). And every time we see a business transaction in the HP wizarding world, we see ...
miltonaut's user avatar
  • 3,042
10 votes
1 answer
3k views

How much is a Berry in One Piece worth?

In One Piece the major currency appears to be the Berry. Bounties for various pirates seem to clock in at around the 10 to 20 million range. When Nami is looking at ducking out from the Straw hat crew ...
Jontia's user avatar
  • 19.8k
10 votes
2 answers
8k views

Were Clone Troopers paid or rewarded in any way for their service?

(Inspired by this question) On Coruscant, there existed at least one "Clone Bar", know as "79's". This bar was privately owned, so the clones presumably had to buy their own food and drink. This ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 67.1k
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why isn't gold used as a currency in Krynn?

For some reason in Krynn steel is valued greater than gold. This seems odd since steel is more common (and more practical), whereas gold is rare. Steel has the disadvantage of being susceptible to ...
Jack B Nimble's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

Mistborn- Why make money out of metal?

My partner recently listened to the Mistborn Trilogy on tape, and I missed most of it, so forgive me if this question has an obvious answer. Most nobles carry as little metal as possible out of fear ...
Adele- Nexus of Potlucks's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

Where did the idea of using bottle caps as money come from?

Being a fan of both the DuckTales and the Fallout series, I have only recently noticed that in the former there was an episode The Land of Trala La where the main characters introduce a concept of ...
Edmund Dantes's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
740 views

Is latinum a galactic currency?

In DS9 The Search, Quark explains to Cpt Sisko that's he trusts he'll be safe booking passage back to the Alpha Quadrant from Karemma, because He [Ornithar] may serve the Dominion, but I'm the one ...
1252748's user avatar
  • 2,456
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

What would have happened to Harry's property if he died during the Battle of Hogwarts?

What would have happened if Harry died during the Battle of Hogwarts? What would have happened to Grimmauld Place and his vault of money and his possessions? Who or what would these items go to?
user50780's user avatar
  • 904
8 votes
1 answer
917 views

In the movie "In Time", has the currency always been "Time"?

In the movie In Time, almost everything revolves around time, in fact it's the primary form of currency. Was the world always this way, or was there once a monetary system similar to what we use? If ...
onewho's user avatar
  • 9,912
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

What does Boba Fett spend his money on?

Bounty-hunting is a high-risk/high-reward profession. Boba Fett regularly risks his life in combat situations, in return for a lot of money. Besides necessities, what does Boba Fett spend his hard-...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 67.1k
7 votes
2 answers
11k views

What is latinum worth?

I'm wondering if we know what latinum can buy. Items like, for example, biomemetic gel, Romulan ale, stem bolts, or starships don't help us since they're not readily available on Amazon, as far as I ...
ThePopMachine's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

What currency does the galaxy deal in besides credits?

In APM and the Clone Wars series, among other media, there are frequent instances where Republic credits are not accepted. These are typically places outside of the Republic and especially in the ...
thegreatjedi's user avatar
  • 34.2k
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there a canonical currency symbol for the Battletech C-Bill?

I'm building a web-page for my local Battletech group that includes tools to track our stable finances (we have a heavily homebrewed campaign set on the Solaris 7 Game world that we've been playing). ...
Adam Luchjenbroers's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
902 views

Is there a huge class gap in the Wizarding World?

In the Muggle world, there is a huge class gap between the poor and the rich. Sure, in the Wizarding world, you have poor families like the Weasleys and rich families like the Malfoys, but is there ...
AAM111's user avatar
  • 243
7 votes
1 answer
620 views

What does it mean to press latinum into gold?

Curious whether the actual process for gold pressed latinum is ever mentioned. It's possible to encase a liquid into gold, but then you would call it gold encased latinum, rather than gold pressed ...
Misha R's user avatar
  • 13.3k
6 votes
1 answer
3k views

How does the Magic World obtain their food?

Reading the question "Rich Wizards, Poor Muggles" about wizard money and muggle money, I think I hit upon a contradiction. In the answer to that question, it was stated correctly that: For ...
Sir. Hedgehog's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

How does the Federation conduct trade with the other species given that money no longer exist in the Federation economy?

Nobody works for a living in the Star Trek Federation since the concept of money does not exist. Without money as a medium of exchange, how does the Federation conduct trade with the other worlds? I ...
user486818's user avatar
  • 8,787
6 votes
2 answers
13k views

How rich is Sirius Black?

So we already have answers on how rich Harry Potter is, but the answer (while good) doesn't touch on how rich he is from later books. My question is, how much did Sirius leave for Harry in terms of ...
Anoplexian's user avatar
  • 5,181
5 votes
1 answer
704 views

Has the (Dune universe) Solari ever been represented physically?

I wanted to design a Solari note, but I'm wondering if the Solari has ever been represented physically in any other official Dune-related media.
Shawn Alfaro's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
475 views

Can currency in the Wizarding World be melted down?

In the Wizarding World, there are bronze Knuts, silver Sickles, and gold Galleons. Can these coins be melted down into precious metals (thus a Galleon is literally worth its weight in gold, or ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
  • 51.9k
5 votes
3 answers
412 views

Is Bajor's post-occupation economy money-based?

Other than a single reference to money in DS9: "Necessary Evil" (which could well be edited away without hurting any story arc), I don't remember the Bajoran economy being portrayed as being based on ...
einpoklum's user avatar
  • 10.1k
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Star Wars: The Empire and Taxation

Recently, a friend and I were discussing the logic of the Death Star. The issue of price eventually came up. I stated that since the Empire had so many citizens, they would get massive amounts of tax ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 67.1k