I need a handle on currency in the Firefly verse by agirlyman

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I need a handle on currency in the Firefly verse

POSTED BY: AGIRLYMAN
UPDATED: Sunday, February 26, 2006 21:42
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Sunday, February 26, 2006 4:13 PM

I know the Alliance uses "Credits", and the outer rim "Coin", but what are some examples of how what cost what?

AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?!?!?

Tee Hee

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 4:37 PM

CYBERSNARK

I think "coin" is just an expression for hard currency (as opposed to credit). Whether it's minted metal (as what Patience uses to pay Mal) or pretty paper (as Niska uses, and as Mal liberated from that slaver's pocket in "Shindig").

Pretty much all that's established (as per the BDM) is that the Alliance has their own scrip, which private security firms won't accept as payment; they insist on cashy money.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 4:45 PM

SIGMANUNKI

Aren't the currency types platinum and credits? Where credits = Core and platinum = Rim?

Also, if you want examples of how much things cost, the only time that I can remember it being mentioned is in Ariel when Simon was telling the crew how much the meds he had with him were worth on the street.

I think he mentioned both currencies. So, that might give you some numbers to get a conversion ratio.

Hope that helps.

----
"We're in a giant car heading into a brick wall at 100 miles/hr and everybody's arguing about where they want to sit."
-David Suzuki

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 5:05 PM

AGIRLYMAN

oh yeah sig I forgot about that, that is a perfect example of what i'm looking for, thanks I will definately check that out. Does anybody remember how much Mal got for any of his jobs? I can't seem to recollect any $ amount.

AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?!?!?

Tee Hee

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 5:50 PM

DOG13000

I really hate to give this link, because I don't agree with it, but it is the most researched one I know of...

http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyMoney

With THAT said, I will give my explination.

Credits are used in the Core worlds, Platnium in the Rim (as mentioned earlier).

Now, The only real "credit" refrences I know of are in ariel (mediceine values), and the only real platnium ones in Safe (25 a head on the cows).

What FireflyWiki forgets to mention is it costs Simon's father 2000 credits to get Simon out of prison. On FW's scale, that's $50,000... He's rich, but THAT rich? Especialy for a minor crime that of "being in a blackout zone, talking to someone." I've never been in a cell, so I don't know for certain... but what would that be? A 250 dollar bail? 500?

They also don't mention the 100 Credit and 300 Credit (I think) bills featured in the Serenity Visual Companion, which look like reguler currency, that of a 1, 5, 10, or 20 dollar bill.

With these two things said, I would have to put $1 USD at about 4 Credits. So, a 100 Credit Bill would be $25.

The Cows went for 25p a head, Cows go for about $250 a head (as mentioned in FW), so $1 is about 10p.

$1 = 4 Credits = 10 platnium...
That's just a sitting in front of my computer explination though...

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"Someone Ever Tries to Kill You, You Try and Kill Em' Right Back"
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Very Shiny: www.fireflystore.spreadshirt.net

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 6:10 PM

SIGMANUNKI

@AgirlyMan:
No prob.

I don't think that anything was mentioned, as in exactly dollar amounts. The only reference that I can remember is when Book said that none of the passangers could pay a fraction (can't remember if there was an 1/10 or some such) of what they get for one of there "jobs".

@Dog13000
Hm, perphase someone should look into this a little further. Don't have the necessary docs, but someone here should.

EDIT: Oh, a gaming section! Shiny

----
"We're in a giant car heading into a brick wall at 100 miles/hr and everybody's arguing about where they want to sit."
-David Suzuki

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 6:12 PM

AGIRLYMAN

Thanks doggy, the more info the merrier.

AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?!?!?

Tee Hee

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 6:21 PM

KIZYR

The explanation from the Serenity RPG book is roughly something like this:

Conversion rate: 1 Credit = 2.5 Platinum = 5 Gold = 250 Silver = US$25

So, 1 credit comes to about 25 US dollars. Even in the Serenity RPG, this is said to be taken with a grain of salt. I mean, even now, I could go see a movie in the US for $8.75, in Argentina for $3, in London for $12, or in Japan for $10. So the base price of anything in the core versus rim could differ wildly. Furthermore, Credits are traceable, Coin is not. So, expectedly, all (legal) transactions in the core worlds are in Credits; on the Rim, folks prefer Platinum / Gold / Silver.

In my own RPG, I got positives and negatives associated with each. Credits can be kept in the bank and thus not stolen, but are traceable; coin can't be kept in the bank, but are untraceable. Bank assets, though, can be frozen if you do too many illegal things. That much is my own spin on it, though, but based on stuff in the series. KF

~KF

Lord, I'm walking your way. Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged.
Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all.
Forgive what you can and send me on my path. I will walk on until you bid me rest.
~Haven Prayer

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 7:17 PM

DOG13000

I just can't see this as true..... Why are there 100 credit bills, that's 2500 dollars? people just crry that around?

-----
"Someone Ever Tries to Kill You, You Try and Kill Em' Right Back"
-----
Very Shiny: www.fireflystore.spreadshirt.net

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 7:20 PM

THEPISTONENGINE

There are no hard credits, according to the RPG. Credits are all bits and bytes in the cortex.

Quote:
Originally posted by dog13000:
I just can't see this as true..... Why are there 100 credit bills, that's 2500 dollars? people just crry that around?

-----
"Someone Ever Tries to Kill You, You Try and Kill Em' Right Back"
-----
Very Shiny: www.fireflystore.spreadshirt.net

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 8:08 PM

KIZYR

Quote:
Originally posted by ThePistonEngine:
There are no hard credits, according to the RPG. Credits are all bits and bytes in the cortex.

I don't see anywhere it said that there are no 'hard' credits. It actually mentions that Simon's assets at the start of the series included the clothes on his back, his medkit, and a 20-credit note in his pocket.

As for the insanely-high denominations, I figure one of two equally plausible explanations.

1) The credits reflect the bills that were in the robbed bank. Since they're payroll for an entire mercenary force, they're in high denominations. Ordinary denominations are of the .1, .5, 1, 5, 10, and 20 variety. 50, 100, and 500 are used only by banks.

2) The credits displayed in the visual companion are just for show, and the amount chosen is entirely arbitrary. I'm guessing this is just as likely since I'm convinced by now that the Farsi / Arabic script on the front is gibberish. KF

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 8:10 PM

THEPISTONENGINE

You are correct, my mistake.
Credits are printed with bills that have tracers, so all transactions are traceable.

Is coin currency only illegal on the core, or everywhere?

Quote:
Originally posted by Kizyr:
Quote:
Originally posted by ThePistonEngine:
There are no hard credits, according to the RPG. Credits are all bits and bytes in the cortex.

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 9:42 PM

FLETCH2

Two observations.

1) The bill shown in the visual companion is the same as the ones shown on one of the tables at the beginning of the bar sequence. I don't know if they were gaming or just showing that they could pay the drinks bill. In either case this is regular folk level of money, not some huge amount used to settle interbank debts.

2)Commodity values vary a lot in the real world so trying to assign an entire value system based on the price of cattle in one episode is meaningless. They assume that a cow costs just $250 based on prices here and now. The problem is that in the 'Verse folk live on processed protean blocks, real food seems somewhat of a luxury. Even here a bull may cost only $250 but you can pay $80 for a steak, like any market it's based on what you are willing to pay.

As to the Credits/hard cash question, that would have to be the most variable of exchange rates based on who does the conversion, when and where.

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