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[Update] International Currency Exchange

Approved.
 
Why do Gartagen currency trade at a higher rate than Nepelsian?

Neplesia is at a comparable level of tech, Gartagens are early space age but they get UD = .6KS while the DA gets .5KS
 
Trade rate isn't based on how steady the money is. The value of currency is based on several things, but most of all it's based on how much money is in circulation. If the Gartagens have a higher exchange rate than the Nepleslians that just means that the Nepleslians print more money on a yearly basis than the Gartagens, and if there is more money out there that means it's going to be worth less.

Other than that exchange rate can also be based on economy. Theoretically, since the Nepleslians have been having all of the trouble in Funky Town the value of their currency will be lower because it's less reliable at the moment. However, the Gartagens are having no economic troubles and thus there is no reason for the dollar to be lower. However, this rule doesn't really apply in SARP since exchange rates don't constantly change.


Bottom line is exchange rates are just an arbitrary number that the FM made up and this number has no indication of being better, all it means is that one unit of a certain faction's currency is worth more than one unit of another faction's currency, which isn't necessarily based on which faction is stronger or older.

Example: The current exchange rate for 1 US Dollar is 81 Japanese Yen (It was about 90 a year and a half ago). However, the exchange rate for 1 US Dollar is .69 Euros. Thus Euros have a higher value than US Dollars, which have a much higher value than Japanese Yen. All this means is that the Japanese have much more Yen in circulation than the United States does Dollars, who has more money in circulation than Europe does.
 
Well exchange rates are fixed. Since the amounts aren't moving up and down no currency is stronger than any other. The only real 'strength' of a currency is if it will be taken by merchants. If it can be traded for another one of these currencies then it is good.

So really this just takes the gart monies from 'gart only' to 'usable everywhere'. The specifics of how much for how much of something else doesn't matter.
 
However, the Gartagens are having no economic troubles
Click to expand...
They have huge overpopulation and most of the people there are very poor, from what we saw visiting their homeworld.
 
Sounds a little bit like China to me, which has a fairly stable economy, although that's only because they cheat and don't sell their currency on the open market.

But irrelevantly, there you have it Brian, they are just some arbitrary numbers that someone came up with that all end up converting to the same thing.
 
They are only arbitrary if you say they are. For the purposes of an interstellar economy, its not arbitrary. If it was truly arbitrary, then everyone's currency would trade evenly.
 
But everyone's currency does trade evenly!

Since exchange rates are fixed, no currency is stronger than any others. (IE: there is no currency exchange market to play. No reason to keep your currency in 'garts' or 'Yamis' since they can always be traded fairly and no incentive to try and swap to a stronger currency when your current holdings are in a currency that is loosing value.)
 
Yeah, if I buy a ship with Azorean money or Nepleslian money they will both convert to cost the same.

For example: 1 Gartagen UD it equal to .6 KS. If I went to Gartaga and bought a 2 UD beer then that same beer would only cost be 1.2 KS. However, a job on Gartaga that pays 1000 UD a week would pay 600 KS a week.

It's no different than having pounds and grams for mass. Irrelevant of what you're weighing and what unit it weighs in, it will ALWAYS convert to be the same.

On that same note, if I convert 1 KS to UD to AZ to DA and all the way through the charts and then convert back to KS, I will have 1 KS when I end (theoretically, since I only rounded to two decimals so you could potentially end up with +/-.01)
 
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