The Themblise economy is mostly agriculturally based. Olives, wine, and grain dominate the trade system, and Themble actively exports raw and finished goods to nearby provinces. The monarchy of Croon has the most successful trade-based economy, due to it bordering the Sparrow Islands, which allows it to export its products south through the chain of islands on dragon-back, avoiding the need of ships. Due to the irregular tides and the high chance for storms, using marine-based forms of transportation can be risky and lead to a high chance of failure.
Currency
Themblise currency comes in four denominations: travers, jouries, lores, and aunders. The first are pearl travers, which are small pearls that are carved with runes to protect them from damage and prevent counterfeits. Travers have small holes drilled into the centers so that they can be strung on twine or ribbon and easily carried. These are good for incredibly small purchases, and handy for cats, mice, and other creatures than need only a little bit of a product. The next three are all metals, copper jouries, tin lores, and gold aunders. The metal coins in Themble are not circular in shape, but are hexagonal. This allows for creatures like horses to easily pick them up with their teeth, using the flat edges to grip. The coins also have a hole in the center, so that they may be strung and carried without the need of a bag. All of the metal coins have runes that prove them not to be counterfeits and protect them from damage. The runes prevent the coins from being melted down and used for something else without the charms of the original mint. The design of the coins differ on the monarchy, but in general, they are considered interchangeable by merchants and business owners.
50 pearl travers = 1 copper joury
10 copper jouries = 1 tin lore
5 tin lores = 1 gold aunder
1 gold aunder = 2,500 pearl travers
Themblise do not use iron or silver coins due to the painful properties the two metals have for those who are magical.
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I try to create names that are memorable. In a detailed world like this, there are a ridiculous amount of made-up names to keep track of. All of the coins have names that were inspired by travel. Here is what each coin or pearl is based off of:
- traver is from the noun traveler
- joury is from the noun journey
- lore is from the noun explorer
- aunder is from the verb to wander
My original inspiration for this was that coins travel, from place to place, and person to person. I believe I first thought of this when admiring a euro I had once brought home from a travel to Europe.