Re: Money

[Rick Stevens <sirowen@ne.infi.net>]

At 02:17 AM 4/15/97 -0400, you wrote:

>  Can you shed any light on the usefulness of the old mint?  I belive that
>there would be a lot of precious metal there (for minting special coins and
>the like), in addition to copper, nickel, and ??????
>
>   With there being several Mints ariound the country (plus the "Franklin
>Mint tm"),  any opinions?  Would it be worth the effort to try and reinstate
>US currency?
>
>   The initial radiation is a common theme in my campaigns.  What do the
>locals make up?  Legends?  Taboos?  How did the OOOPS! affect thier ancestors
>(as this will be evident 150 yrs later)?
>
>Thanks :o)
>
>Scott Hann

Scott,
        I think the only real use you might get from the metals from a mint
might be electronic. The copper they coat pennies with could have a few
uses. I don't know about the electronic values of the baser metals used as
penny centers and body metal for larger coins. I think its zinc or a zinc
alloy, but I'm not sure. But I don't think they would have a LOT of precious
metals around. They don't make the money from it, but there could be
extensive collections of older coins that would be silver or gold.
         As far as the value of the mint itself, well, if for some reasons
they are still there, there is the usefulness of the printing presses. (And
very quality ones, at that.) If the building itself is relatively undamaged,
everything inside would be in fair (?) shape. That would include engraving
machines, all sorts of high-quality photocopying machines and whatever
eqipment it takes to copy a nickel sized coin from a 2 foot proof. I saw
something one time about the mints and the original coin proofs made by the
mints are HUGE (for coins). One problem would be the time to really study
the workings of the mint. With all the anti-counterfeiting measures in place
today, I imagine the mint to be VERY hi-tech.
        As for reinstating U.S. currency, its definitely worth the effort,
but I don't hold out a lot of hope for success. In our games,  at least, too
many diverse economic situations. Communist townships not too far from rabid
capitalists, etc. But if you could unify the money, their hearts will follow.


        
Rick Stevens

I'm desperately trying to figure out why kamikaze pilots wore helmets.
-Dave Edison-