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+--- Thread: Eorzean Economics: The Gil (/showthread.php?tid=6973)
Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Verad - 04-20-2014
Good evening everyone. My apologies for not having been on the streets hawking my wares; I have been out of town, but will correct this absence in the next day or so.
In the meantime, I have a question. We all use gil as a unit of common currency. Naturally there's a great deal of abstraction in this, as there is in any MMO. However, unlike other games, which abstract coins down to the name of their precious metal, all we know, as far as I know, is that the gil is the gil, named as such because it is Final Fantasy and therefore certain elements must always be present.
When did Eorzea recognize this as a universally accepted standard? Do all of the city-states back it as having the same value, and what is their basis for backing it? How much gil on a per-day basis assures a reasonable standard of living for the average Eorzean? What's it made out of anyways, and who mints it? Does competition over the issuance of the gil between the city-states lead to economic turmoil? I don't know; I'm pretty bad at economics. Maybe you do.
Lore, fanon, speculation, and conspiracy theories are all welcome. Please share.
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Merri - 04-20-2014
"The currency now commonly referred to as “gil†was officially adopted by the city-states of Eorzea roughly one-hundred years ago, as a means to strengthen trade relations in the wake of the Autumn War. Prior to this, each city-state minted and regulated its own currency, which led to unpredictable exchange rates and prompted many traders to use ancient Allagan pieces in lieu of other coinage. Recognizing the wisdom of the practice (and desiring greater control over the money supply), the leaders of Eorzea announced the creation of new gil, and further decreed that its value would be standardized across all nations. Moreover, to help encourage adoption, it was designed in the image of its precursors.
Initially, as an expression of solidarity, these coins were to be engraved with images of the Twelve, rather than those of individuals beloved of a single nation. As time passed and the gil rose to prominence, however, the policy was relaxed, and the coin came to bear an ever increasing variety of motifs. Those minted to commemorate the reformation of the Eorzean Alliance are a notable example from recent years."
Hope that about covers it! As far as it goes, that's about the sum of all we know on Gil at the moment.
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Zhavi - 04-20-2014
I wonder who controls how much gil gets made, and how they deal with nations whose value is bad. . .and stuff.
/tinfoil hat
(I am useless.)
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Melkire - 04-20-2014
Gil launderers will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
...I'm even more useless.
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Verad - 04-20-2014
(04-20-2014, 02:25 AM)Merri Wrote: *Snip lore*
Hope that about covers it! As far as it goes, that's about the sum of all we know on Gil at the moment.
You know, it's information like that which reminds me just how sparse the lore in my other MMOs can be. Glad to see the devs put some thought into the matter.
As far as controlling the issuance of gil, that's also an interesting question. The broad range of motifs present means that it would be relatively easy to pass off counterfeit gil as being a newly-issued motif, or to rely on easier-to-forge motifs; I expect issuing a new fake emblem will result in short-term gains until the fake is identified, but a motif that can "pass" well will last quite a while. On the other hand, the combined mutual interest in protecting the gil as a unit of common currency means the city-states would be more invested in collaborating to eliminate counterfeiters where possible.
Apart from that, I wonder how "official" issuance is regulated to minimize inflation, and whether individual city-states might engage in economic warfare by threatening to devalue the currency if certain demands weren't met. I can see Uldah and Limsa in particular engaging in this behavior, Gridania not so much.
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Pip - 04-20-2014
I am by no means a history or economics expert, but that doesn't mean I won't spout my opinions as fact on the internet!
IF the gil system works similarly to how some early (and/or fantasy) coin systems worked, the coin is made of a precious metal of some sort that is actually worth the value assigned to it. One gil would be made of materials that are worth... one gil. It's not inflation-proof, but it's pretty stable since you literally can't make more money than you have (like we can with our dinky paper currency). Inflation in that sort of economy would more often come from discovering and mining new sources of gold/silver/whatever and potentially flooding the market. If it isn't rare any more, it isn't worth as much.
Counterfeiters in such a system would have to focus on producing inexpensive look-alike, weigh-alike, bend-alike, taste-alike metals to pass off as the precious metal used in regular coinage. Making your own 'fake' coins out of real gold isn't exactly profitable. Maybe a thin veneer of gold (or whatever material) on top of a more common but comparably dense metal... *plots...* Other more profitable ways to cheat the system include shaving the edges of the coins and recasting them in ever-so-slightly thinner molds.
But again, all of this is predicated on a big IF.
RE: Eorzean Economics: The Gil - Korinth - 04-25-2014
To weigh in on this one, we're also ignoring the existence of magic and enchanted objects in this. In all likelihood Gil issued by 'official' minters is probably enchanted in a unique and obvious way, to make counterfeiting that much more difficult.