I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

36 – Currency Reform (2)

“I’ll think about it for a moment, so let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After putting all the coins back into the sack, Luca briefly bows to my guest order and then leaves.

What Luca said, that is, melting all the gold and silver coins in circulation, extracting the raw materials, and then converting them into Burgon coins is a matter that cannot be decided on the spot.

‘…There are benefits.’

The state, that is, me, buys coins in circulation, melts them down, and then makes new coins and sells them on the market again.

If this is the case, the administrative burden will be reduced and inflation will be controlled, and the metal industry will be able to grow as a bonus.

But… There are too many things to prepare.

If only one place goes through this process, it will not be able to keep up with domestic demand, so you will have to build foundries everywhere.

In addition, since there is no guarantee that corruption will not occur at the foundry, another person must be assigned to prevent corruption.

‘Above all, this method inevitably creates coins of low value.’

The idea of using coins released on the market as a material is good, but the amount is too small.

As Luca said, because Burgon is adjacent to many countries, there are many types of coins circulating in the country, and the only way to bury them all is to print a lot of coins.

If you change foreign coins into Burgon coins while maintaining the proper amount of purity one by one, someday there will be more Burgon coins than foreign coins released in Korea, but the problem is that it takes too long. Go.

Above all, while maintaining high purity and making coins one by one even though there are not many materials, there are too many of them, so they are no longer money, but commemorative coins sold in souvenir shops.

I need to print a lot of coins, but I don’t have enough materials.

In that case, the only way left is to reduce the amount of material used in one coin, the amount of gold and silver, and eventually a coin of low value will be made.

At this time, other countries…

“Ines.”

“N, yes… Mr. Seo.”

Since that happened last night, Ines, who was staring blankly at me with his face blushing differently than usual, answers the sudden call with a stutter.

“What does Laurel do in this case? Laurel is in a similar situation to Burgon.”

Like Burgon, the Duchy of Laurel is also located on the way to the Holy Empire, the Carolingian Kingdom, and the coastal region, so many coins are circulating in the country.

Laurel must be having similar problems, so I’m sure Ines knows something.

“Ah, ah… In Laurel, that’s… There’s a currency exchange.”

“Currency Exchange?”

“Yes, the law dictates that foreign coins must be exchanged for coins of the Holy Empire at a money changer’s office. Otherwise, the transaction will be prohibited.”

A money changer…

In the Holy Empire, there are so many imperial coins released on the market, probably because each of the vassals produces coins of the same purity, and because of their large weight class. So, it wouldn’t be a big problem to ban the circulation of foreign coins and force them to exchange all of them at exchange offices.

But that’s not the case in Burgon. Since it is more than 5 times larger than the Duchy of Laurel, even with a simple calculation, you need to build 5 times as many exchange offices, and in the beginning, the amount of coins is insufficient, so it is not possible to supply stable supplies to the exchange offices.

“Haaa… My golf hurts.”

“That… Master.”

“What’s up?”

Chloe cautiously speaks to me as I sigh.

“Do you really need to make coins?”

“Huh?”

Chloe tilted her head and spoke cautiously.

Seeing me puzzled, Chloe continued her explanation.

“The purity of the coins in circulation is different and there are too many types, so there are problems… Isn’t it enough to just unify them into one?”

Chloe, who I taught her a lot since she was young, can clearly see and judge many things more than ordinary people.

Chloe is now questioning the very act of making coins.

“Which coin do you mean designate as official coin?”

“Yes.”

Hmm… This isn’t bad either.

For example, designating imperial coins as official coins solves most of the aforementioned problems.

Because the empire is right next to it, you can continue to receive a stable supply and the value is also stable.

Just…

“If that’s the case, foreign countries will have a lot of influence over Burgon?”

This is the problem.

Countries using different currencies can block foreign capital from entering the country with all kinds of defense mechanisms, but it is impossible between countries using the same currency. The European Union is not listening to the German Empire for nothing.

In addition, if a major accident occurs in a country that uses the same currency, the shock wave of the accident will have to be hit without any breakwater.

“Yes, that’s true… But wouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“Inverted?”

“Yes, because it makes it easier to buy or sell things. In turn, we have an influence.”

Huh…

Is Chloe saying right now [Let’s stick a straw in a foreign country and gradually eat away at it from the inside]…?

Hmm… If we successfully encroach on the economic rights of other countries, we may even turn the coins used in that country into our Burgon coins.

The risk is considerable, but once you succeed, you get a profit that is incomparable to that of melting coins one by one and making new ones.

…I need to see how far Chloe is thinking.

“Chloe, if a foreign country plays tricks on coins, won’t that method be immediately blocked?”

“Hmm… It could be possible, but it will be difficult. I don’t know about gold and silver coins until they are released, but if they are released, they are already out of the hands of the state.”

…Chloe is right.

The state can easily control the money that is in the bank or before it is printed, but the way the state can touch the money that has already been released on the market is limited.

Besides, it’s all the more so because we don’t print banknotes here like in Hyundai, we use real money like gold and silver coins.

“…And what would you do if Burgon were encroached upon by a foreign country? You would have to designate a coin from either the Kingdom or the Empire as the official coin, both of which are richer than Burgon.”

“There is a lot of fertile farmland, and through the Bar region, you can fully draw on the capabilities of the coastal region and ports, and since it is between the kingdom and the empire, you can get a lot of profit from intermediate trade, so it should be fine. . Still, the two countries will be richer, but they will be able to hold on enough. More than anything…”

Chloe blurts out her words and smiles at me.

“…Because you are the owner of Burgon.”

“Chloe…”

The last words could be seen as irresponsible in a way, but I couldn’t blame them.

How can I punish Chloe who has infinite trust in me?

“…Good.”

Since I have been using foreign money in the first place, nothing much has changed.

Even if things go by unremarkable, you just have to go and fix it then.

“Call Luca.”

“Yes, sir.”

…………

“Coins of the Holy Empire…?”

“Yes.”

Luka’s eyes widen and she tilts her head.

Yeah, just a moment ago, she was talking about making coins, and it would be shocking when suddenly there was a sound like chutney.

“From now on, all coins used in Burgon will be unified as coins of the Holy Empire, and this will also apply to transactions between individuals and payment of taxes.”

The reason why I chose the coins of the Holy Empire rather than the Carolingian Kingdom is simple.

The Holy Empire is stable because, although its vassals mint a lot of coins, all coins are required by law to be of the same fineness, the Carolingians have so many records of deterioration. If we adopt such an unstable coin as an official coin, only we will be saved.

The Holy Empire is a territory, population, and vassals, all of which are worthy of the name of an empire, so it will be a bit difficult to encroach on it… But because of that, the benefits of inserting a straw are far greater than those of a kingdom.

“Wouldn’t it be nice not to have less work?”

“Yes, compared to making new coins, it’s a job that can be said to be almost non-existent. Hold on—”

While answering my question, Luca suddenly opened his eyes wide as if he had realized something.

“Do you intend to… Eventually erode the economy of the Holy Empire?”

Although Luca has already aged as much as he would like to grow old, I can feel the force as if a young man were speaking.

A slight smile forms on his lips and his eyes are colored with excitement.

“You’re quick-witted, Luca.”

“Oh, ohhh… That’s really good, good. It’s fun when it’s close like this.”

Luka must have forgotten that he was in front of me, and in an instant he enters a world of his own and starts talking to himself.

Of course, within a second, Luca realizes his condition and quickly calms down.

“Kuh, keuh…! Your Highness, then what about the coins of other countries except for the coins of the Empire?”

Luca clears his throat and quickly changes the topic of conversation to work. It’s too obvious to say, but I’ll get over it.

“Tell people to exchange them for Holy Empire coins… Or buy them from here and melt them down.”

“That means…”

No matter how profitable it is, completely giving up coin casting is not a very good option, so we have no choice but to print it to some extent.

“Yes, I should make Burgonian coins of the same purity as the imperial coins.”

Venice Ducat.

A gold coin that occupied the position of key currency in medieval Europe.

It was used so widely in Europe that European countries printed gold coins that were exact copies of the Venetian ducat. From Spain in the west to Denmark in the north and the Ottoman Empire in the east.

Me too.

Like the European countries that minted ducats, I will make coins that are of the same purity as the imperial coins and are perfectly compatible with each other.