Let's design a currency!

Greetings, my name is Calvin and I recently joined this site, I'm an aspiring graphic novelist and a coin collector.

I have to design a currency for my graphic novel and I thought that some of you might be interested in contributing to my project with ideas, feedback and suggestions.

The currency is supposed to be used in a fictional collectivist, industrialist society in the far future on a rocky, cold desert planet where resources have recently become scarce due to an unexpected skyrocketing demand for raw materials.
These sudden changes in the economy should be seen in the currency as a form of cost-cutting design choices such as punched holes, cut sizes etc.

I will make two different sets of designs, one that was produced before the sudden economical changes and one which is being introduced as a result.

Please do share pictures of interesting designs that could be used as source material for this, remember that references don't have to meet all of the requirements as specific aspects can be picked out and used to form a complete design.

The currency must be:

• Cost-efficient to produce
  
• Resemble socialist money
  
• Durable
  
• Futuristic or subsequently retro-futuristic in design
  
• A set of coins and banknotes
  
• No fractional units
  

The denominations for coins will be as follows:
Copper: 1, 2, 3, 5
Copper-nickel: 10, 15, 20, 50, 100 (only 1-50 in the newer series)

Banknotes
100, 300, 500, 1 000, 2 500, 5 000, 10 000, 50 000, 100 000

And here's a picture of my base of operations:


Thank you all in advance! ?

Stay updated, I will post some designs later today.

Here's a few designs that I like

Verweis : "CalvinV"​
​The currency must be:
​

• Cost-efficient to produce
  ​
  
• Resemble socialist money
  ​
  
• Durable
  ​
  
• retro-futuristic in design
  ​
  
• A set of coins and banknotes
  ​
  
• No fractional units
  ​
  

​
​
​
​
​

​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?mode=avance&p=1&l=transnistrie&r=&e=transnistrie&d=&ru=&i=&ca=3&no=&m=&v=&t=&a=2014&w=&dg=&f=&u=&g=&c=&tb=y&cat=y

In these scenarios it is most often the most scarce comodity or ration cards. In a desert planet I would think that water would be currency number one followed by food.

I think all coins and notes would be in the form of a credit card - 50 x 76 mm and very thin, so you could keep them in your wallet, purse or satchel; solid, but flexible and most likely made of plastic or a new kind of metal or material that resembles the look and feel of today's modern credit cards. These coins/banknotes are meant to be easily exchangeable - you don't reuse it as a credit card, but as a coin/banknote. If I buy something for $1, I give the card to the person/machine I am getting the product from, and they keep the coin/banknote.
The denomination would be part of the design, which I will leave up to you.

Verweis : "Grinya"https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?mode=avance&p=1&l=transnistrie&r=&e=transnistrie&d=&ru=&i=&ca=3&no=&m=&v=&t=&a=2014&w=&dg=&f=&u=&g=&c=&tb=y&cat=y" rel="nofollow">​Transnistrie​

​Socialist with no ressource, futurist design, I was also immediatly thinking to our friend kundik

First suggestion, copper and copper nickel are expensive, few communist countries used them after the 1950s.

I would go with Aluminium for low values, brass for mid values and possibly stainless steel or nordic gold for high values. These metals, except Aluminium are very cheap and durable.

Banknotes, a socialist society would not encourage accumulation of large sums, so a range 100 - 100k seems manifestly high.

My suggestions

Coins - Aluminium - 1 Kopecknik, 2 Kopeckniki, 3. Kopecka, 5 Kopecka
Brass, 10, 20, 50 Kopecka
Steel 100, 200 Kopecka

Notes - 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000 Kopecka

On coins have a number in one side in a solid font, on back the symbol like say the wreath, hammer and sickle like USSR and East Germany.

Notes have scenes, like a Factory, a Rally, Agricultural workers, a Monument to Socialism or the leader and the Army, add a sewing works like Angola or Tanzania can't harm it and failing that a classroom.

The polymer coins of Transnistria come to mind, all the boxes seemed to be ticked, minus the fact it's on another planet! Transnistria in space anyone?

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces64482.html

Also, rounded squares would be a good idea to save space, you could fit them tightly in a rectangular shape.
(think of square pizzas = more pizza than a round pizza, less space wasted in the box)
Polymer would afford it self to ease of printing etc and very easy to stamp blanks.
Aluminium would be very useful for other purposes in space other than money.

Great thoughts everyone!

Quick question, why do you want it to resemble socialist money?

Verweis : "CoinCollector1243"​Great thoughts everyone!
​
​Quick question, why do you want it to resemble socialist money?

​
communist money has a generic look with a emble and some workers or fake pictures of the nation.

plus we can’t put any historical figures unless we decide to make a nations and the queen as the monarch.

Verweis : "CalvinV"​Greetings, my name is Calvin and I recently joined this site, I'm an aspiring graphic novelist and a coin collector.
​
​I have to design a currency for my graphic novel and I thought that some of you might be interested in contributing to my project with ideas, feedback and suggestions.
​
​The currency is supposed to be used in a fictional collectivist, industrialist society in the far future on a rocky, cold desert planet where resources have recently become scarce due to an unexpected skyrocketing demand for raw materials.
​These sudden changes in the economy should be seen in the currency as a form of cost-cutting design choices such as punched holes, cut sizes etc.
​
​I will make two different sets of designs, one that was produced before the sudden economical changes and one which is being introduced as a result.
​
​Please do share pictures of interesting designs that could be used as source material for this, remember that references don't have to meet all of the requirements as specific aspects can be picked out and used to form a complete design.
​
​The currency must be:
​

• Cost-efficient to produce
  ​
  
• Resemble socialist money
  ​
  
• Durable
  ​
  
• Futuristic or subsequently retro-futuristic in design
  ​
  
• A set of coins and banknotes
  ​
  
• No fractional units
  ​
  

​
​The denominations for coins will be as follows:
​Copper: 1, 2, 3, 5
​Copper-nickel: 10, 15, 20, 50, 100 (only 1-50 in the newer series)
​
​Banknotes
​100, 300, 500, 1 000, 2 500, 5 000, 10 000, 50 000, 100 000
​
​And here's a picture of my base of operations:
​
​
​Thank you all in advance! ?
​
​Stay updated, I will post some designs later today.
​
​
​
​
​
​

For the coins we should use a desigen like malwawi 1d coin from 1966 with the simple lettering for all people to understand even those who can’t read, on the back side we should use the coat of arms of the society.

The obverse looks like this https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18128.html ( the side with the number 1d being replaced in any amount)

The back side should look like this with its emble https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3496.html


For the bills we should use that classic socialist type of currency look with the back of the bill being some image of a wonder of the nation and the front side would be 1/4 a white strip with the date, denomination, signature. and the remaining half 3/4 of the front would be a image of people of the nation

similar to this Is this Yugoslavia bill https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note205427.html





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