Lirith Kai uses metal coins for economic exchange; gold and silver are both monetary metals of value, although copper coinage is also used. Raw gold and silver (bars, nuggets, dust) may be used as money, if there is a scale handy to weigh them; copper is not so used. Foreign coins, unless they are of a type in common circulation in Lirith Kai, are valued by their metal weight. It is unlikely that a merchant would accept a strange coin, and the would-be spender will be directed to a professional money-changer. If he also does not recognize the coin, he will weigh it--and check its specific gravity so as not to be tricked by impure metals. The coins described below are in general use across the country and accepted as legal tender in most adjacent areas as well. The "relative value" given below is intended to show the value of the different coins in relation to each other and does not definitely link them to any particular earthly money value.

The last four coins, the "rings" or pierced disks, are the ones in commonest circulation--many people may go their whole lives without ever seeing gold. The silver ring and copper flat have square holes; the copper ring and bit have round ones.

Note that the absence of slang terms or nicknames for the gold coins can be taken as an indication of their relative rarity.

In some parts of the country one may find alternate sets of coinage. In the Delta are there are some roughly triangular coins of silver, about one inch down a side, with a round hole in the middle; since they are a little thicker than the standard coins, they are usually treated as being equal to a silver mejimina. Out of the Delta area, or when dealing with a big merchant, these coins will be weighed and valued in that fashion.

In the Naowei (and adjacent parts of the Empire) may be found silver coins of all sizes from a half-inch diameter to two inches across; all are round or oval and pierced with circular holes near the edge (or in the case of the oval coins, near one end); copper coins occur in a similar variety. These coins have been minted at different times and places all through the Naowei (and probably in other areas, coming in with trade), and they are as often used for personal adornment as for cash.

In the Sendori area, which is centered on Korvan Saleh (but extends to Simtakka in the north and halfway to Lubana Ooling in the south, as well as through much of the central Han Torra Khang), there is a complete separate set of coins which are generally smaller, thicker, and of more variety than the Empire's standard seven; they are known by many local names and are exchanged for Imperial coinage by metal-weight.