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Psienesis wrote:The Mechanicus alone possess the technology (basically, a super-powerful astropath-in-a-jar) to transmit information from all of their shrine-forges to other shrine-forges and, ultimately, to Mars. Without quantum computers and similar, high-speed, galaxy-spanning networks, it would be impossible to maintain a galaxy-wide currency in electronic form.

If it takes thirty years for your debit card to go from a pastry shop on Opus Macharius to your bank's central office on Macragge, and another 30 years for the "approved" message to make it back to the pastry shop... you'll opt for cash.

but seriously, the card acts more like a Flash Drive that has the credits stored as a file.


people have forgotten how these things work so they can't just copy-paste their money.

Besides, the Mechanicus doesn't have the sole ownership of the sciences anyway. The Inquisition also does its own research, and the Ecclesiarchy, surprisingly, is deep into chemical research.

Perhaps, and not surprisingly, but the formation and maintenance of a galaxy-wide (shoot, even sector-wide can't be done) communications network (that doesn't make use of telepaths and mind-readers) that permits rapid, accurate and secure transmission of data is beyond the means of the Imperium in general, and would fall under the domain of the Mechanicus in all likelihood if it did exist.

I do rather like the flash-drive idea, though, but that does require making regular trips to the bank in order to get your Flash-Debit "recharged" with however many more credits were added to your account since the last time you sync'd your data.

not nessacerly.


your employer might put them on there for you. just plug your drive in, type in your Employee code and presto, your salery due is downloaded.

Pretty much. Most major companies would have Mechanicus employees anyway, simply for their technical knowhow, and they'd probably be handling that or at least programming it so the computer code can handle it.

it's probably more of the Company paying the Mechanicus for the services it provides. sort of like Outsourcing

Perhaps, but the banking concerns all seem to be private lending-houses, much as it was in Europe before the modern age. Though, again, the flash-card works if you work for a foundry, forge or other tech-advanced concern.

Guess I have always envisioned Pay Day in the Hive as long lines of drab workers waiting to get a handful of coins and bills from an Administratum clerk checking each hand-punched time card and paying out of a large, iron-bound box guarded by a pair of gun-servitors.

Psienesis wrote:Perhaps, but the banking concerns all seem to be private lending-houses, much as it was in Europe before the modern age. Though, again, the flash-card works if you work for a foundry, forge or other tech-advanced concern.

Guess I have always envisioned Pay Day in the Hive as long lines of drab workers waiting to get a handful of coins and bills from an Administratum clerk checking each hand-punched time card and paying out of a large, iron-bound box guarded by a pair of gun-servitors.

Since that it more grimdark and primitive then that is how it is.

The Ravenor Books refer to "chit wafers" which I would assume would be a data storage device (like a oversized sim card or some such) that can be used as payment instead of hard cash. These books also refer to sub-sector and sector wide effects on the economy, sugesting that there is a wider monetary system than just planetary.

It would not surprise me if the economy of the Imperium is very similar to renaisance europe in many places. though i would say that if you were to travel to another planet you would probably have to either cash or "download" all your welth and take it with you, similarly to the early stock market where shipments of gold were shipped between countries to balance currency prices (little known fact; every piece of money is actualy an IOU from a government against its repository of gold, thus when you print more money its all worth a little bit less, thus inflation. fact is that in the Imperium this doesnt necisarily hold true, one cred is probably always worth the same amount, prices only changing whith the availability of a specific good or service).

Money hasn't been used to represent a nation's gold reserves in a long time.

It still does, If it didnt, all those $100 bills wouldnt be worth the paper they are printed on. its also why the rumor that Fort Nox is empty is such a frightening thing because if that was true then the US dollar would be worth nothing.....

but, economic symantics aside, It is the 41st millenium we are talking about, their financial system has probably become so misunderstood that the value of an imperial credit is such an abstract figure that it is nigh on incomprehensible (this might also alow the governors to manipulate prices to controll the populace)...

No it doesn't. US dollars are fiat currency, not backed by precious metals. Has been for fourty or so years.

yup, although you can still find bills floating around that say you can "exchange for X$'s worth of Gold bars"

these are called Gold Certificates instead of Treasury Notes.

naturally you can't exchange them anymore, but they are quite interesting. they look almost exactly like other bills(with the exception of the newer ones)


the thing which makes Fiat Money valuable is that it is backed by the "Full Faith and Trust of the Federal Government" and they say that the bill you are holding is worth the number printed on it.



Fiat money is vulnerable to Inflation, but that is something that can be controlled.

Yeah, but so does the value of gold fluctuate as more is introduced and as the population grows.

The Imperium is just too big to use gold-backed currency.

Gold Fluctuates in value, but because the incoming supply of gold on our modern earth is fairly low it would make a good backing system. it would be very difficult to "flood the market" with gold.


in the Imperium they wouldn't use gold simply because of logistics. and possably because Fiat is so much easier.


individual currencies might be occasionally backed by gold/silver/other random object, but most probably are Fiat.

Besides, the Imperium has a better use of gold.

RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF GILDING! EFF YAH!

gotta keep those Emperor battleship's prows nice and shiny

The greatest economic system ever devised is the Ork one. Teef! Built in poverty and inflation control.

Or Necron - they don't have money at all.

they probably did when they were still the Necrontyr

The Necrons also, as they are now, distinctly lack the need to buy anything. At all. Ever.

Lord Commander Phyrus wrote: (little known fact; every piece of money is actualy an IOU from a government against its repository of gold, thus when you print more money its all worth a little bit less, thus inflation. fact is that in the Imperium this doesnt necisarily hold true, one cred is probably always worth the same amount, prices only changing whith the availability of a specific good or service).

Not for a long time, US currency is basically based on saying 'the US governmen is awesome, and we say this piece of paper is worth $20. It's fiat money, it's all worth exactly the piece of paper it's printed on in reality, but the US government's word makes it worth something.

As for the Imperium, my opinion is that basically each world has its own currency, with maybe some closely packed worlds like Ultramar, or other mini states within the Imperium having some kind of universal currency. but I'm willing to bet the average Imperial citizen doesn't travel very much offworld, as I recall, some pilgrims spend their whole life journeying to Terra. So, having an Imperium wide economic system doesn't seem to be THAT necessary, as was said, the planetary tithe is collected in terms of men, food, production, etc. not money.

Your soul is the only thing you have of value.
Now get back to the frontline.

:-P

Melkhiordarkblade wrote:Your soul is the only thing you have of value.
Now get back to the frontline.

:-P

Confessor Dolan put it better:

I am not asking for blood. I can take your blood.

I am asking for souls. Only you can give me your souls.