By the way... if you're running merchant guilds there is the possibility of having some coinage be less valuable than normal. Certian lords back in the day were known for mixing low quality metal in with the good stuff to create coins cheaper than they should have been.

Just a thought.

Thanks for all the input! I've only had a second before work this morning to skim through everything. But it'll take some time to digest.

And while I love a good Norse god debate, that might be best saved for its own thread, no?

This might be an easy solution for a complex problem:

Since all the major countries are self sustaining (for the most part), how about the prices stay standardized, in and around the capitals only. Then drawing a circle from the capitals, the prices begin to increase and items become less and less available. Other major cities could be included in the standardization of product prices, but mainly it's just the capitals?

Thoughts on this?

Fits the feel of a typical D&D world perfectly, where capital city is the closest to god. Which is good enough for whatever game you're trying to run, I think.

This shouldn't effect the economy too much unless some angry noble wants to show how boss (read: show off the size of his dick) he is by arresting people for dealing in false coins.

Idea:
- Replace Platinum piece with pure silver. pSP.
- Replace Gold with pure Copper. pCP.
- Replace Silver with lead (has a silver coating and a different picture). Now called lP. Minor poison properties if you scratch off the silver foil, but you only know this if you have enough ranks in knowledge: nature.
- Replace Copper with coal, or something. Obviously, the new 'cP' must be given special storage and not hauled away with you on adventures - for it's easily destroyed in water.

That makes sense in terms of trade routes, as these would be the centres of trade. If you're choosing this route then I'd also suggest modelling in most major settlements too. A village might not have any effect, but all towns would be trade centres to some extent... It all depends on how much work you want to put into it...

Who are you talking to... ?