Money
Coins
Money
“Here,” I said, “are ten pieces of gold.” I counted them out, into Milo’s hand. He looked at me, disbelievingly. I had already given fifteen pieces to Tolnar and Venlisius each. They had upheld the laws of Ar and preserved their honor. They would also file the papers, and several certified copies of them, in various places, and, by courier, with certain other parties, official and unofficial, in various cities. It would be next to impossible, for, say, Seremides, to recover them all. I retained my copies, of course. Both Tolnar and Venlisius, with my concurrence, thought it wise to remove both themselves and their families from Ar. Fifteen gold pieces each was a fortune. It would enable them to relocate with ease and reestablish themselves much as they might wish, wherever they might wish. At the time Boots Tarsk-Bit had obtained the Home Stone of Ar’s Station I had had something like ninety gold pieces left from the one hundred gold pieces I had obtained in the north. I had given Boots half of these, forty-five gold pieces, and had retained the other forty-five. I had then given fifteen each to Tolnar and Venlisius. I had now given ten to Milo, and had retained five. Five pieces of gold, in its way, incidentally, is also a fortune on Gor. One could live, for example, in many cities, though not in contemporary Ar, with its press on housing and shortages of food, for years on such resources.”
"Magicians of Gor" page 468/9"Although it is not my policy to include Cabot's marginal notes, jottings, etc., which are often informal, and apparently written at different times, in the text of his accounts, I think it would not be amiss to hypothesize certain approximate equivalencies here. To be sure, much seems to depend on the city and the partiular weighs involved. For example, a "double tarn" is twice the weight of a "tarn." It seems there are usually eight tarsk bits in a copper tarsk, and that these are the result of cutting a circular coin in half, and then the halves in half, and then each of these halves in half. An analogy would be the practice of cutting the round, flat Gorean loaves of sa-tarna bread into eight pieces. There are apparently something like one hundred copper tarks in a silver tarsk in many cities. Similarly, something like ten silver tarks would apparently be equivalent, depending on weights, etc., to old gold piece, say, a single "tarn." Accordingly, on certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to a copper tarks; one hundred copper tarks to a silver tarsk; and ten silver tarks to a gold piece, a single tarn. On this approach there would be, literally, 8,000 tark bits in a single gold piece.
"Magicians of Gor" foot note of page 469"Certain jarls, of course, in a sense, coined money, marking bars of iron or gold, usually small rectangular solids, with their mark. Ring money was also used, but seldom stamped with a jarl’s mark. Each ring, strung on a larger ring, would be individually weighed in scales. Many trans-actions are also done with fragments of gold and silver, often broken from larger objects, such as cups or plates, and these must be individually weighed. Indeed, the men of the north think little of breaking apart objects which, in the south, would be highly prized for their artistic value, simply to ob-tain pieces of negotiable precious metal. The fine candle-sticks from the temple of Kassau, for example, I expected would be chopped into bits small enough for the pans of the northern scales. Of their own art and metalwork, however, it should be mentioned that the men of the north are much more respectful. A lovely brooch, for example, wrought by a northern craftsman, would be seldom broken or mutilated."
"Marauders of Gor" page 76Gold Tarn Disk (1gtd=10 silver tarsk =1000 copper tarn disks =8000 tarsk bits) "One of the central coins on Gor is the golden tarn disk of Ar, against which many cities standardize their own gold piece. Other generally respected coins tend to be the silver tarsk of Tharna, the golden tarn disk of Ko-ro-ba, and the golden tarn of Port Kar, the latter particularily on the western Vosk, in the Tamber Gulf region, and a few hundred pasangs north and south of the Vosk's delta."
"Rogue of Gor" page 155Silver Tarsk (1ts=40 copper tarn disks)
"A silver tarsk is, to most Goreans, a coin of considerable value. In most exchanged, it is valued at a hundred copper tarsks, each of which valued, commonly, at some ten to twenty tarsk bits. Ten silver tarsks, usually, is regarded as the equivalent of one gold piece, of one of the high cities. To be sure, there is little standardization in these matter, for much depends on the actual weights of the coins and quantities of precious metals, certified by the municipal stamps, contained in the coins. Sometimes, too, coins are split or shaved. Further the debasing of coinage is not unknown. Scales and rumros, it seems are often sued by coin merchants."
"Rogue of Gor" page 155"The tarsk is a silver coin worth forty copper tarn disks."
"Assassin of Gor Page 160Copper Tarsk (1ct=8 tarsk bits)
"Accordingly, on certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to a copper tarks; one hundred copper tarks to a silver tarsk; and ten silver tarks to a gold piece, a single tarn. On this approach there would be, literally, 8,000 tark bits in a single gold piece."
"Magicians of Gor" foot note of page 469Tarsk bit (10tb=1 copper tarsk; 100tb=1 silver tarsk))
"One of the guardsmen opened her mouth, not gently, and retrieved the coin, a rather large one, a tarsk bit. Ten such coins make a copper tarsk. A hundred copper tarsks make a silver tarsk."
"Explorers of Gor Page 54"To be sure, much seems to depend on the city and the particular weight involved. For example, a "double Tarn" is twice the weight of a "tarn." It seems there are usually eight tarsk bits in a copper tarsk, and that these are the result of cutting a circular coin in half, and then the halves in half, and then each of these haves in half. An analogy would be the practice of cutting the round flat Gorean loaves of sa-tarna bread into eight pieces. There are apparently something like 100 copper tarsks in a silver tarsk in many cities. Similarly, something like ten silver tarsks would apparently be equivalent, depending on weight, etc., to one gold piece, say, a single "tarn." Accordingly, on this approach, the equivalencies, very approximately, and probably only for certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to one copper tarsk; one hundred copper tarsks to a silver tarsk; ten silver tarsk to a gold piece, a single tarn. On this approach there would be, literally, 8,000 tarsk bits in a single gold piece."
"Magicians of Gor" page 469