Editing Customs of Jhelum (section)

== Coinage ==

Most commerce in Jhelum uses copper and silver. Gold is too valuable for ordinary coinage and is normally weighed rather than counted.

{| class="wikitable"
! Coin
! Metal
! Common Use
|-
| '''Dam'''
| Copper
| Food, drink, ferries, small bribes, street purchases, and other daily expenses
|-
| '''Tanka'''
| Silver
| Wages, lodging, weapons, animals, valuable goods, serious bribes, and respectable gambling stakes
|-
| '''Gold'''
| Rings, dust, ingots, jewelry, or cut pieces
| Tribute, ransoms, royal gifts, major trade, and fabulous treasure
|}

Twelve copper '''dams''' equal one silver '''tanka'''.

Tankas are often called '''silvers''' in ordinary speech. A person might demand "five silvers" rather than "five tankas." Dams are simply called '''coppers''' when their exact origin does not matter.

Coins from many kingdoms circulate in Jhelum. Money changers test unfamiliar silver by weight, markings, and the sound it makes when struck. Foreign coins may be clipped, debased, or refused entirely.

Gold is weighed on small balances. Merchants accept rings, dust, pieces of jewelry, cut sections of ingots, and foreign gold coins according to their actual weight and purity. Anyone attempting to pay for breakfast with gold should expect an audience.

=== Typical Prices ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Purchase
! Typical Price
|-
| Flatbread, fruit, or a small street snack
| 1 dam
|-
| Filling common meal
| 2 dams
|-
| Cup of sura
| 1 dam
|-
| Cup of arrack
| 2 dams
|-
| Jug of ordinary sura
| 3–4 dams
|-
| Cup of respectable wine
| 4–6 dams
|-
| Bed in a crowded common room
| 3 dams
|-
| Modest private room
| 6 dams
|-
| Good room with a lock and clean bedding
| 1 tanka
|-
| Bath, shave, and laundering
| 3–6 dams
|-
| Ordinary day's wages
| 4–8 dams
|-
| A generous everyday bribe
| 2–4 dams
|-
| A bribe requiring someone to forget a face
| 1–3 tankas
|-
| A bribe requiring someone to forget a murder
| Whatever the witness believes their life is worth
|}

Prices vary with season, district, scarcity, the appearance of the customer, and the number of armed companions standing behind them.