M:EF, Money, and the Resources Background

It has already been pointed out elsewhere that, in a world where magic is common, a precious metal economy would be quite impractical. The below system is an extreme simplification, but should make it relatively simple for characters to keep track of regular expenses.

100 brass coins (brass, penny, B) = 1 silver coin (silver, tear, S)
100 silver coins = 1 gold coin (gold, crown, G)
10 gold coins = 1 Quint-infused gold coin (quint, pawn, Q)
100 Quint-infused coins = 1 spiritually awakened coin (wake, eye, W)

Coin Appearances

• Penny: These coins are the simplest in design, being little more than a small brass disc about half an inch across and a quarter inch thick. While it would only take Matter 2 to change a coin of the appropriate size and shape into a counterfeit penny, this is not exactly worth the effort.
• Tear: The coins are an inch across, hexagonal, and bear the stamped face of the local ruler and notched edges. A Disciple of Matter (or Matter 2 and a coin press) would be required to create counterfeit tears.
• Crown: These nine-sided coins are nearly the same size as tears and at least as complex. In addition, most governments take the time to place a comforting (and in some cases, almost addictive) Resonance on the coins to make those handling them trust the coins' value. A mage with Matter 3 and Mind 2 could probably counterfeit crowns, so Sleepers tend to be a little wary of gold coins that look newly minted.
• Pawn: These plain, round, gold coins are smaller (1/2 inch) and thinner (1/16 inch) than golds, simply stamped with their denomination on the back and front. Each one is infused with a point of Quintessence by means of a Prime 4 Effect (meaning they are pawns of Tass, so Prime 3 can be used to draw the Quintessence out of the coin). Most non-mages will not accept pawns as legal tender; after all, they have no way of determining whether or not the coin is infused with magic. Mages use pawns regularly, though, both among themselves and when dealing with Spirits, who generally accept them as readily as raw Quintessence.
• Eye: These gold coins are identical in appearance to pawns but have been in circulation long enough that a Disciple of Spirit has been able to awaken their spirits. Eyes are extremely rare and quite peculiar. Such coins carry the mystical weight of the items and deeds they were used to purchase, which has led to some strong superstitions about money that has been stolen by murderers or used to pay traitors. Few Sleepers are even willing to handle eyes, much less accept them as payment. Eyes are indistinguishable from pawns or counterfeits unless the appraiser employs the mystickal perceptions of Prime and Spirit.

  Coins and the Resources Background

  I'm kind of cheating to make this easy on myself by giving a tear the buying power of a U.S. dollar. This makes it easy to gauge the prices of goods and services.

  Coin	U.S. Dollar value	U.K. Pounds value
  1 penny (B)	1 cent	approx. 1/2 pence
  1 tear (S)	$1	65 pence
  1 crown (G)	$100	65 Pounds
  1 pawn (Q)	$1,000	650 Pounds
  1 eye (W)	$100,000	6,500 Pounds

  Resources Rating	Monthly Income	Value of Resources if Liquidated
  0	0	0
  1	500 S	1,000 S
  2	1,200 S	8,000 S
  3	3,000 S	50,000 S
  4	9,000 S	500,000 S
  5	30,000 S	5,000,000 S