Well, I’m working on a big article on Builders and the technology of Gor’s world, and it requires quite a bit of research and documentation… so, to rest, I’m going to do something simpler in the meantime, since I’d already written a first version of it, which I revised after some research.

If you’d like to support me, I’ve got a little store in Second Life, and you can even make a donation to encourage me, with a tip jar on the spot. A huge thank you and all my gratitude, in advance! SLURL : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serendipity%20One/236/47/25

We’re going to talk about money, wealth and wages, and I’d like to warn you that we’re tackling a huge problem of inconsistency on Norman’s part! Why’s that? Oh, that’s easy, I’ll give you an example, with a few quotes. Note the novel numbers!

“Give me then,” she said, “a piece of tarsk, a tenth of a copper tarsk.

Gor slave fighter Book 14 Page 300

Current ratios around Brundisium at the time of writing, given the inflation of unstable times, are one hundred tarsk-bits to one tarsk of copper,

Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 488

“One hundred tarsk-bits of copper make one tarsk-bit of silver.”

Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 54

“The tarsk is a silver coin worth forty copper tarsk.”

Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 160

“Similarly, something like ten tarsks of silver would apparently be equivalent, depending on weights, etc., to a gold coin, say a single tarn.”

Magiciens of Gor Book 25 Page 469

For the common silver tarsk, the smallest tarsk, the coin corresponding to the auction in question, the ratio was one hundred such tarsks to one gold tarn.

Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 488

Can you feel the problem? And I’m not even talking about the prices! Now, I know that people on SL Gor are used to the 10 system, and that the general idea is that copper is the currency of the lower classes, silver that of the bourgeoisie (and the upper classes) and gold that of the richest people. And let them remind me that a slave can be bought for a few copper coins, since it’s written in the novels! But considering that Norman himself doesn’t know what he wants and clearly hasn’t thought through his universe’s system of values and currencies, we’re going to have to redo it for him.

I mean, in the novels, you learn that a vulo (a kind of edible pigeon) is worth one copper coin, but elsewhere in the novels it’s worth 10, and there’s no mention anywhere of whether that’s because they’re not the same coins, or not the same rarity of the product, and so on. Not to mention the fact that, according to this concept, one slave is worth the same as five or six vulos? When it’s clearly described that slaves are a relatively rare commodity, often requiring a significant investment in their training, education and upkeep? Don’t you think that’s absurd?

Well, I do. So we’re going to completely overhaul Gor’s currency and value standards, and to do so, we’re going to use a standard: the ZcS meter and its system of currency per 100. And don’t tell me about the prices in the Tales of Gor tabletop role-playing game – they’re even more absurd and erroneous than those in the novels!

So I’m going to invent, but not without references: I’m going to use all the currency value references in Norman’s novels, and then compare them to the monetary system and prices of a culture we know very well: ancient Rome in the 3rd century AD.

1- Gorean currency

There are 4 general types of currency:

• Tarsk bit: in fact, it’s a pure copper coin cut into pieces. One cuts the coin into 8 pieces, but as there is metal loss, ten tarsk bits are needed for a whole copper coin.
• Copper tarsk: a small coin weighing around 3 to 5 grams of pure copper, stamped with a tarsk head on one side. One copper tarsk is worth 10 tarsk bits.
• Silver tarsk: a very fine coin, weighing 3 to 5 grams, with silver as pure as possible (but often mixed with nickel or tin), crenelated edges, stamped with a tarsk head on one side. One silver tarsk is worth 100 copper tarsks.
• Gold tarn: a fairly heavy, wide coin with crenellated edges, it generally weighs 20 grams of gold, as pure as possible (but here again, there are often alloys), struck with a tarn head on one face. One gold tarn is worth 100 silver tarsks.

But for those who like the 10 system, there’s a second monetary system!

• Copper tarn: this imposing coin weighs 30 to 50 grams, and is marked with a tarn head on one side. It is worth 10 copper tarsks.
• Silver tarn: here again, a coin that weighs between 30 and 50 grams of silver (a fortune!) and is marked with a tarn head on one side. Worth 10 silver tarsks.
• The double gold tarnet: said to be unique to Ar, this is a huge gold coin weighing 200 grams. It’s like a small gold ingot, marked with the Ar coat of arms. It’s worth 10 tarn of gold and it’s very rare. I’m not even sure it’s in circulation.

Why this second system? Firstly, because it is mentioned in the novels, among many other currencies, and secondly, because it makes certain prices and values more coherent. Once again, the novels don’t cite enough strict references to know that a slave always sells for X price, or that a generous meal in a tavern always costs Y. There are, in fact, lots of different currencies, so I’ve just simplified to a standard for the Gor SL universe.

NOTE: promissory bills: the principle of written and exchangeable debt exists on Gor, and is managed by the merchant caste and its counters. This makes it possible to travel and trade with a written document as currency, which can be exchanged at a merchant caste counter for the currency value written on the document. But. while it’s very useful, it only works with the merchant caste between cities that are allies or have trade agreements.

Summary of the monetary system:

• 1 Gold Tarn (G, gold) = 100 tarks argents (S, silver) or 10 silver tarn = 10,000 copper tarsk (C, copper) or 1,000 copper tarn
• 1 Silver tarsk (S, silver) = 100 copper tarsk (C, copper) or 10 copper tarn.
• 1 Copper tarsk (C, copper) = 10 tarsk bit

Modern value reference:

I’m European, so I think in Euros (and now Swiss Francs, because I live there), but the advantage is that Euro, Dollar and Swiss Franc are currencies whose values are relatively close, so, joy!

To make this comparison, let’s do a simple calculation based on two examples from the novels: a loaf of bread can be bought for one tarsk bit, and a glass of low-quality strong alcohol in a tavern, including kajira sex service, can be bought for one tarsk copper. A basic loaf of bread is worth an average of €2? A loaf of bread is just a portion for one person, so 1€? Why not? Which gives us a bowl of paga at an inn for 10€, which doesn’t seem absurd. Similarly, a baked vulo costs around 1 a copper tarsk, so 10€ too? Fairly coherent. Meat was never as scarce as people think in Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages, it was just more expensive than nowadays. A vulo is smaller than a chicken (it’s actually a large pigeon). And a live vulo shouldn’t cost much more than 2 or 3 tarsk of copper.

So let’s start with this standard, which remains arbitrary, but is consistent with the values mentioned in the novels:

• 1 tarsk of copper (C): €/$10
• 1 silver tarsk (S, silver): €/$500 to 1,000
• 1 gold tarn (G, gold): €/$50,000 to 100,000

Once again, this is a standard! Relative values may well be halved, depending on the region and local wealth. And values also depend on product rarity. Bazi tea, in Bazi, is worth much less than elsewhere! And after an enemy city has been looted, the price of slaves on the stands must plummet due to the abundance of merchandise, which is not usually an affordable investment.

2- Goreans’ standard of living

As a reminder, almost 90% of Goreans are low-income: peasants, workers, handymen or small craftsmen. They only see silver tarsk in exceptional cases, whereas peasants probably never do. And for all these people, gold tarn is almost legendary. Take out a gold coin in a country village, and you’d better have a strong bodyguard or know how to fight if you want to get away with it!

There’s one thing I’d like to point out, because we’re citizens of the 21st century, who live on wages, i.e. all our labor power is remunerated in money, and it’s this money that provides us with our standard of living: until the 19th century, most people bartered to obtain the goods they needed, because money was ultimately a luxury, a city thing. A good example of this is the classic TV series Little House on the Prairie. The Ingalls family, independent American farmers at the end of the 19th century who live rather well, despite some setbacks, count their change carefully. He may have a few cents, but rarely more than a dollar in savings, and it will take him years to build up a nest egg. As a rule, he exchanges his crops, or his labor, for products he can’t produce on the farm.

A family of peasants or small craftsmen needs around 100 copper tarsk ($1,000) a month to live, including all essential expenses: housing, food, supplies and clothing. Yes, at that rate, said family doesn’t eat bosk meat every week, can’t change new clothes every year and can’t save. A simple copper tarsk is very precious: one bad harvest season or illness, and this family is in danger.

The families of urban craftsmen and merchants, as well as the average upper-caste, administrator, doctor and warrior in towns and small cities, need around 1 to 3 tarsk of silver ($1,000 to $3,000) a month to cover their essential expenses: housing, food, supplies and clothing. Again, it’s not necessarily luxury, but there’s a certain affluence and possibly some means of saving for a difficult future.

A bourgeois, low-caste or high-caste family spends around 10 to 20 tarsk of silver ($10,000 to $20,000) a month to ensure its standard of living; this includes all expenses, a wealthy family owns slaves, hires servants and guards. At this level of wealth, these individuals can easily borrow, or find vast funds from their non-monetary assets (land, industries, jewelry, etc.).

A wealthy merchant would spend twice as much as a bourgeois or notable High Caste, i.e. 50 tarsk of silver a month ($50,000), but his expenses also include his assistants, accountants, direct employees, and no doubt investment in his merchant transport etc.

A very wealthy High Caste spends between 1 and 2 tarnk of gold ($100,000 to $200,000) a month to ensure his lavish lifestyle, which also includes patronage, receptions, and the payment of all his staff, including the High Castes in his service.

A city Ubar spends between 2 and 5 Tarn of gold ($200,000 to $500,000) on his standard of living. But in addition to his harem, his family, his palace staff and his own guards, this also includes the salaries of his highest personal officers, gifts and largesse for his allies and close associates, as well as his political expenses and public image. He single-handedly supports part of the city through his spending and investments.

Examples of expenditure:

What can a single person do with a silver tarsk? Well, you could spend a month in an inn, with room and board. Or treat yourself to an all-expenses-paid party in a tavern, with food, drinks and slaves galore, all for one night. Or pay for a boat trip on the Vosk, for example (but you’ll have to pay for the food, too).

What can a single person do with a gold tarn? You can live for a whole year in an all-expenses-paid luxury inn with a personal slave rented for the year. You can finance a banquet for 100 people, with musicians, dancers, educated pleasure slaves, unlimited food and drink, for two full days. You can hire a complete ship, for a crossing from north to south of Thassa, in style.

3- Some monthly income

The figures given are monthly and indicative, serving only as a reference; the norm would correspond to incomes around a medium-sized city-state. Norman rarely discusses these matters in detail. Depending on the wealth and size of the community or city, these average incomes may vary. The salary shown is for one person; a family often has at least two earners, sometimes more. And it’s not necessarily money: again, most people barter. But it does provide an idea of wealth:

• Peasant: 50 C
• Small craftsman: 1 S
• Village tavernkeeper: 1 S 30 C
• Guard/sentinel: 70 C
• Village chief: 2 S
• City warrior (non-commissioned officer): 2 S 50 C
• Small urban merchant: 3 S
• Slave trader: 5 S
• Urban innkeeper: 4 S
• Small town private scribe: 4 S 50 C
• Small town doctor: 5 S
• Small-city builder: 5 S
• Renowned craftsman or merchant (including slaver): 15 S
• Luxury tavernkeeper: 20 S
• High-caste military officer or official: 25 S
• Legion senior military officer: 75 S
• City council member: 1 G
• Luxury merchant (including slave trader): 2 G
• City steward/Ubar: 3 G
• Very large city official: 4 G
• Wealthy merchant: 5 G
• Wealthy Ubar: 5 G

High-castes and wealth

High-castes are by no means necessarily the wealthiest people in a community. And since their social status imposes a high standard of living, they may even be at risk of debt or ruin. Throughout Gor, it was often members of the Merchant caste, especially brokers, lenders and bankers, who handled the currency and held the fortunes of the cities. The administrative staff of the city services (army, health, urban planning, justice & law) are generally well paid, however, out of taxes, with a large proportion reserved for the Council and the rulers, the assurance of their lifestyle reflecting on the reputation and social and political aura of the city.

But by no means all high-castes are part of this staff, and must work for themselves or for a private employer. As a result, some high-castes are poor or even bankrupt, and some families are known to sell their young daughters into slavery in order to avoid bankruptcy. These young girls are sought after as slaves for their prestige and knowledge.

See you soon, with price lists for Gorean goods and commodities according to the zCs monetary system!