U.S. coins as currency

[cah]

In the desert cave, there were the two spots that the characters could use the metallurgy skill to recognize the silver deposit. Using a pickax got you cash. Coinage wouldn't be needed, as long as simple balances were available.

Yeah, along with an incredibly efficient particle accelerator to make it into actual gold.

A 'dollar' would simply count as some such mass of gold (or silver, copper, etc.)
Hmm. Maybe an idea is here. Items could be found that would just have to noted as $20 worth of (enter commodity here). The original game had no weight basis for the encumbrance system, just a 30 item limit. (Copper could be worth more in some spots, less in others...)

That only holds for very liquid assets.

[Drool]

In the desert cave, there were the two spots that the characters could use the metallurgy skill to recognize the silver deposit. Using a pickax got you cash. Coinage wouldn't be needed, as long as simple balances were available.

Yeah, along with a incredibly efficient particle accelerator.

...what?

[WillisPDunlevey]

I would like it if there were different currencies or mediums of exchange for different settlements/communities.

Some may use units of water (if water is scarce in the location)
Others would use empty cartridges or even cartridge shaped metal coins (aluminum, lead, gold, silver etc)

Old USA coins would be a good one to use (as well as rare gold or silver "clad" commerative coins their scarcity would make up for not really being gold.

Some communities could restrike coins and then demand that you use their currency inside their walls. This would prevent capital flight.

Having to deal with money being worth different amounts in different locations is a fact of life in any world.

In an earlier post, someone mentioned Metro2033 and how reloaded ammo was not as good as the real ammo. This is true to some extent. After an apocalypse, people may be able to cast their own lead bullets, but they will (especially when talking about 5.45x39 russian cartridges) never be able to make copper jacketed bullets with an air pocket in the jacket that allows the steel penetrator to slide forward changing the center of gravity thus causing the bullet to bend and become unstable after hitting a soft target. Hand loaders will also not be casting jacketed bullets with hardened steel or tungsten penetrators to make Armor Piercing bullets.

Lyman or other hand held lead molds will not work well for specialized bullets like the military uses (or even well for specialized Hollow point bullets capped with polymer tips)

WPD

[Nemo]

It's not enough to be the most powerful society locally to get people to trust your fiat money. To trust your fiat money, people have to trust your country. They have to trust that you will not spin up the printing presses to devalue your debts.

Well, yes and no...

Once government is involved, money gets a lot more complicated. There is more to it than "trust in the country" and "printing presses".

First, there is the concept of "legal tender". For example, in the U.S. today, you can sign a contract that requires payment in gold... But U.S. courts will refuse to enforce it. Like it says on the bills, they are good "for all debts, public and private". So if you want the protection of the U.S. legal system, you have no choice but to accept U.S. dollars.

Second, fiat money is needed to extinguish tax liabilities. (The IRS does not accept gold.) Some even believe that this is the only thing giving it value ("Chartalism").

Anyway, as far as money is concerned, the "Desert Rangers" do not function as a government in any meaningful sense. When we talk about "money" in Wasteland, we are talking about something fundamentally different from the "money" we use. So any argument about one based on the other is highly suspect.