Most of the Shattered Earth operates on the barter system, with goods and services exchanged directly. Overlords take their tithes and taxes in farmer's produce or pickers' bricks, or in "favors" of labor to be redeemed later. The Iron Brotherhood encourages commerce by issuing metallic coins marked in "trade units" that ostensibly represent a skilled worker's labor for one day, and the use of Brotherhood coins has stretched far beyond the borders of their territory. The differing valuation of a person's skill, however, or the value an employer places on it, has lead to the practice of "chipping" Brotherhood coins into pieces for smaller purchases. These "bits" of money are far more common than unbroken trade coins, and an ordinary person may go for years without handling an entire trade unit piece. A "bit" is usually one-tenth of a "trade", though smaller bits are possible.
The Brotherhood also has a system of "corvee coins", each intended to represent enormous amounts of value. These are rarely minted as actual coins, normally appearing only in records or notes of exchange for large projects or intra-Brotherhood taxation. A single "corvee" represents the labor-value of a dozen skilled men for an whole season - the annual output of an entire farming village might only be 20 corvees, and a senior Brother in good standing might have a gross yearly income of just 25 corvees.
Equivalents
1 Corvee = 1000 Trade Units = 10,000 common bits
1 Corvee = Cv
1 Trade Unit = Tr
1 common bit = 1/10 Tr, or 1 Bit
Appearance
Brotherhood Trade Unit coins are 20mm in diameter and just about 1mm thick. They have a hole in the center and are sometimes worn as jewelry or strung on cords for large transactions. Smaller, differently-colored "half-coins", valued at 1/2 Tr, are also sometimes seen. Bits are simply Trade Unit coins that have been split using a clipper or a chisel - the division is often pretty rough, leading to debates over the actual fraction of a Trade each bit represents. Since the alloys used in Trade Unit coins varies, weighing bits isn't useful, so a little haggling is always the order of the day when using fractional coins.
Wages
Common laborer, unskilled, for a full summer day: 4/10 Tr
Common laborer, unskilled, for a full winter day: 2/10 Tr
Semi-skilled worker or apprentice, for 1 day: 5/10 Tr
Cowboy, guard, herdsman or outrider: 6/10 Tr
Foot soldier: 7/10 Tr (less stoppages for provided gear, food, etc)
Craftsman: 1 to 1.3 Tr
Costs
Victuals
Meal, bare minimum: 2/10 Tr (in a growing region - more expensive elsewhere)
Meal, filling: 5/10 Tr
Meal, rich: 7/10 to 1.0 Tr
Meal, grand: 1.5 to 3 Tr
Water, potable: 2/10 Tr per liter in the Dune Sea (guaranteed non-radioactive)
Lodgings & Rents
Rough transient dwelling: 3/10 Tr (1 person for 1 night)
Plush transient quarters: 1.0-1.5 Tr
Bunkspace for an entire season: 25 Tr
Services
Bucket-bath & a shave: 7/10 Tr (first water)
Full bath, with all the trimmings: 2.5 Tr
Mending a garment: 1/10-3/10 Tr
Repairing Gear: 2/10-8/10 Tr
Stock
Hoss, broken but unproved: 10-20 Tr
Hoss, proved out: 35-40 Tr
Pulling-hoss: 80-150 Tr (up to 1/6 Corvee)
Prime war-hoss: 500-2000 Tr (1/2 to 2.0 Corvee)
Fatted beeve: 2-15 Tr (depending on local market)
Gear
Saddle, basic: 7-15 Tr
Saddle, War: 20-40 Tr
Weapons
Sling & a dozen good stones: 1/2 Tr
Glass-bladed cutter: 3/10 Tr
Small knife, good quality: 3-5 Tr
Spear-head, good quality: 7 Tr (Full spear, 9 Tr)
Short sword: 25 Tr
Great sword: 80-150 Tr
