Question about the monetary system.

As I'm locked in, inside the NoobU bank (didn't check the game clock before going in for a quick peek), I thought to while away the hours asking about the monetary system.

By luck, I ended up with some gold in the intro merchant area, by clicking on the cash out lever, but I've no idea what actually happened.

Using the PC purse provided gives me a small wall of text, and I couldn't find description of why I'd want to either consolidate or segregate piles of coins, etc.

There seems to be many different coins of varying value, with a rate equivalent of Monetary Unit (equivalent to 1/100th of a legacy gold piece), but, well,  

Can a kindly DM give me some advice on this?

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Drop any item and pick it back up... outside of the OOC areas.

This should convert GP into local currency.

Thanks Eriniel,

So I need to keep it in local currency? Do merchants in IC areas require the local currency or gold? Is the local currency used in any transactions (eg, player to player)?

When I segregate it, what am I actually doing, when I enter an amount in the Talk window and hit done (or do I need to hit enter first)? What amount do I put in the Talk window, based on the contents of the purse?

What is the value in consolidating it (apart from less inventory boxes being used), and when should I consolidate it?

I can't find any references in the Wiki about the local currencies, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to why it exists and how it is used.

I can't get the purse to work when I try it not sure what Im doing wrong

Friends,
Good questions. Since I'm sure over the years many will read this, please allow me to elaborate on the monetary system.

To all persons new to this in NWN, DON'T PANIC this system is easy.

Like D&D we use several types of metal coin in our monetary system; these include copper, silver, gold and platinum. We often abbreviate coins as copper coin (aka copper piece) as cp, silver as sp, gold as gp, and platinum as pp. Each type of coin is worth ten of the previous type. So ten copper are worth one silver, ten silver are worth one gold, ten told are worth one platinum coin.

1000cp = 100sp = 10gp = 1pp

There are several 'nations' minting coins presently or having large numbers of coins in circulation. There are some small variations in sizes and values of the coins of different mintage, but the variations, where they exist are small (e.g. one ancient culture used a base 12 numbering system and their coins are likewise in sizes and weights suited to a relative value of 12:1 rather than the normal modern coins which use the 10:1. You will encounter these coins with other than 10:1 ratios rarely enough that you really don't need to worry about it.

In the stories we tell, coins can be clues. Clues? Yeah, clues. Example ... a high INT PC might wonder, how did those goblins come by all that dwarven silver? This could lead to a new adventure of discovering the destitute clan of dwarves who were robbed of their riches, or not. Another example: a DM might position a scroll (item) on a floor UNDER a chest full of coins of some long dead culture, to indicate that the scroll is older, and will only be found if the chest is destroyed (NWN's equal to looking under it I guess - barbaric but effective).

Now, in our server, all PCs start in the OOC space, a safe zone where you can sort your gear, rally with other PCs, etc. before going in-game to face danger and adventure. Because the first two Areas* are OOC Areas. Since NEW PLAYERS first time PCs roll through here, we use standard NWN 'LEGACY' GOLD and merchants here. Once you transfer to an IC (In-Character) or in-game area we presume an understanding of and use of the custom monetary system begins.

In that second Area from the entrance, the 'cash out' lever is there for the use of PCs who may have some of our custom coins, use of the lever converts all their coins back to LEGACY GOLD allowing them to interact with the merchants in these OOC spaces.

As Eriniel indicated, once you go in-game, to an IC Area, as soon as your PC picks up anything, all your LEGACY GOLD converts to our 'coins of the realms'. . . and you are then able to interact with our other merchants and systems that use custom coins.

Every PC carries a PERSONAL FUND ITEM (PF) in inventory, it cannot be dropped. Think of it as your PCs purse. It will hold an absurd amount of coin, to put all your loose coins from your PC's INVENTORY into the purse, use the purse (PF). Select option 1, then option 2 (CONSOLIDATE COINS). When your PC is out working, hard adventuring and like that, all the loot the PC picks up, including coins, goes loose into their INVENTORY... this means it is easy to divide up loot at the end of an adventure, assuming every party member 'bags their gear and coins' before the go adventuring.

The other use of the PF is to discover how much wealth it contains... as your image shows (use PF option 1, option 1) to reveal this... the output reads as follows:

The PC with that purse content has no Dwarven coins, no Acerian coins, no Old Kingdom coins, no Phar Izain coins, no Eastern Realm coins and 2848 LEGACY GOLD.

The reference to 'MU' this is short for 'Monetary Unit' the smallest unit of currency in a system is the 'Monetary Unit', in general terms this is the copper coin, so the text indicates to you the total value of your coins and LEGACY GOLD is 284800MU (copper coins, or you can think of them as 'pennies' if you prefer).

I hope this text helps answer your questions, and I'm sure it will help many others too. Let me know if anything here is less than illuminating please.

* first is entry area, second is a lot like a train station where you get sorted to go back in-game, and maybe stop to buy some refreshments first.

Thanks GM_ODA, that makes sense.

Dwarven coins, Acerian coins, Old Kingdom coins, Phar Izain coins, Eastern Realm coins

Are there likely to be "exchange rate" differences between the currencies? For example, does one Dwarven copper coin roughly equate to one Eastern Realm copper coin?

Just in case I need to stockpile different currencies

Friend Cadarnfel,
Good question. The money changers do charge a fee (another way to draw down PC wealth actually, though a minor one). In general the coins are of similar size/wt/value. Only a few are measured in 12:1 ratios, so the majority being 10:1, are roughly equivalent. As a DM, I like to think the monetary system can be used to spice up the background and lend another path to feeding PCs clues, and I look forward to a time when wars and political intrigue can mean having the wrong coins in a purse can get a PC in trouble too.

"Argh, we be at war with Phar Izan! This must be a spy! Take him to the brig lads!"

Monetary systems, the root of all sorts of DM mischief.