A question of coinage

Is a guinea the lowest unit of payment/coin, does anyone know? Can 1 guinea be broken down and used to pay for a number of (cheap) things? (Yes? And what makes you think I only have 1 guinea.... well, you might be right.)

I have many a taler, whilst I sit in Vienna, come and see me at my tavern

jimbotten wrote:Is a guinea the lowest unit of payment/coin, does anyone know?  Can 1 guinea be broken down and used to pay for a number of (cheap) things?  (Yes?  And what makes you think I only have 1 guinea.... well, you might be right.)

In proper money which existed before 1970 a Guinea was a gold coin with a value slightly more than a pound.

I am not 100% and its value may have varied a bit but £1 and two shillings would not be far wrong.

There were 20 shillings to the pound
12 pennies to the shilling

and several coins such as the farthing were worth less than a penny.

If your character has a Guinea its probably not a single coin but a mix of farthings, pennies, three penny bits, six pence pieces, shilling's and perhaps even a groat.

I think for in game purposes it is a single coin as there is no other coin lower to be used. If he was in game 2 I would recruit him into my Freicorps and pay him a wage.....   

Thanks as ever, "no coin lower to be used" is the key (and rather sad) phrase...

pity you're not in game 2 I would have hired you as a sgt in my Freikorps......

Not sure my man is discipline-material... more of a loose cannon. And anyway, he has a long-term mission, just not (just yet) the wherewithal to accomplish it!

I guess there might be things a person in Swashbuckler needs to buy that cost less than a guinea? Yes, makes sense when playing a nation that you'll not interested in loose change but what if Jim wants a beer?

My thought exactly... (no doubt the response to next turn will clarify the in-game mechanics - or not).

Aha, I have now spent 0.5 of a guinea on a night in a hostelry (with no "extras", I hasten to add).