Chapter 297: Minting New Currency

Now that Berengar had established supreme reign over the Duchy of Austria and had begun the process of incorporating the silver and gold mines from throughout the Austrian alps, he decided it was now time to introduce a national currency. 

Gold was severely limited at this time. Until he could gain the vast wealth of a region like Mexico, or South Africa, he had no means to acquire a substantial sum of the coveted material as such, Berengar had decided to keep with the silver standard. 

The most significant problem that the Austrian economy had faced up until this point was that the currency's production was completely localized. The size and quality of the currency entirely depended on regional rulers, and as such, it was horribly debased.

Thus Berengar had opted to revitalize the Austrian coinage and in the process make it the universal standard for trade in all of Europe, especially now that his trade reached most corners of the Mediterranean. 

Thus, with the stroke of a pen, Berengar utilized his executive authority to establish the Coinage Act of 1420. With this, he intended to create a stable centralized currency in the hands of the Austrian Government, and by Austrian Government, he meant himself.

This so-called Austrian Thaler was minted with his visage on the front and the Austiran Reichsadler, or Double-Eagle on the back. It had a finely made reeded edge and was quite aesthetically pleasing.

The silver thaler was made of 99.9% fine silver; it weighed one troy ounce and had a diameter of 1.5 inches, with a thickness of 0.13 inches. This silver coin was exceptional when compared to the previous currency used within the Duchy of Austria or that which is currently used around the world. 

To accompany this Austrian Thaler, which would act as his silver standard, Berengar also minted a gold coin of a similar design to go along with it; this would scarcely be used in anything other than transactions of significant sizes, as its value was too large.

This golden coin was named the Austrian Gulden and shared the aesthetic design of the Thaler, the primary difference being it was made out of 99.9% or 24ct gold and was in slightly different dimensions. While it still weighs one troy ounce and has a diameter of 1.5 inches, its thickness was smaller than the Austrian Thaler, with a thickness of 0.08 inches. 

Berengar wanted a robust currency for his realm, and as such, he had decided that pure coinage, free of debasement was the best option. Thus, he had begun to put the massive stockpiles of gold and silver he had accumulated over the years into producing these two coins. 

After establishing the new currency, Berengar also enacted another law which was the Banking Act of 1420. In this act, he founded a national Bank which was open to citizens of all social standing; this bank could be used to hold currency and distribute loans, among other things.

With these two economic reforms being established, Berengar could claim that control of the nation's economy was thoroughly centralized in the hands of his Dynasty. As such, a broad smile was on his face as he gazed at the silver and gold coins that were in his hands. 

While he gazed at the coins that displayed his appearance without the eye injury, he was pretty pleased with the way they had turned out. They did not appear like the poor depictions one could find on most medieval coins and instead looked semi-lifelike, much like a modern coin. 

The process used to create these coins was quite advanced; Berengar utilized the rolling press machine from his previous life. This device used two cylindrical dies that impressed designs on bullion which rolled between them. Once this bullion was imprinted and rolled, the coins were then punched out from the material with a water-powered hammer. 

Because of this process, most of the coins were relatively uniform and virtually indistinguishable from one another. The actual presentation of the image on the coins was also exceptionally higher than the old hammer coins that other countries were currently using.

While Berengar was admiring the set of coins in front of him; he was utterly unaware that Honoria had slipped into the room. She ever so slightly nudged the door open and slid into the room on her knees, which was below the sight of Berengar's desk.

As such, she crawled over to Berengar with a wicked smile carved upon her luscious lips. There was only one purpose for so stealthily entering the room, and that was to scare Berengar. 

The young princess eventually rounded the corner of the desk on Berengar's right side, which was the side of his wounded eye, before silently standing up behind Berengar; when the young Duke least expected it, the girl pounced on him with a hug, shocking him in the process.

Berengar's first instinct was to smack the girl; however, he ever so slightly managed to refrain from doing he noticed the culprit was Honoria. As such, he grabbed ahold of her perfect pale cheeks and slightly pulled on them while chastising the young princess as if she were an errant child.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! What the hell were you thinking!?!"

Seeing that Berengar was not as entertained as she was, Honoria began to pout in response to the scolding she had received. She just wanted to play a prank on Berengar; there was no reason for him to overreact so much.  As such, the sly little vixen decided to shift the topic to avoid an apology. 

"So, what are those coins for?"

Berengar, who was too enamored with the coins he had produced, quickly fell for Honoria's trick and began to lecture her on his new currency.

"This is the new centralized Austrian currency. In the future, this silver coin will become the staple of our economy. It is made purely out of silver, so its value is substantially higher than the previously issued coins."

When Honoria heard this, she was quite surprised; even the Byzantine currency was extensively debased. Thus Berengar's ambitions to create a pure silver coin were ambitious. However, she had a rough estimate of the wealth Berengar had amassed in terms of silver and gold after expanding into and monopolizing so many businesses; if anyone could do such a thing, it would be him. 

Honoria grabbed ahold of one of the gold coins from Berengar's grasp and closely observed its features. She then realized that the technology Berengar was using to make these coins must be exceptionally advanced, as the coins were nearly identical to one another. The presentation of his face was exceptional by current standards. 

Seeing his handsome visage embossed on a coin made Honoria excited so she kissed him on the cheek before whispering in his ear.

"As long as these coins exist, people will remember how handsome you were! That is an impressive feat if you ask me..."

Berengar chuckled at this before he shooed the girl away from him; he did not have time for her games at the moment.

"Honoria, sweetheart, I am busy with work. I will play with you and Linde later; go do something productive!"

With that said, Honoria began to pout once more as Berengar had not taken the bait; however, she eventually said nothing and blew Berengar off; it was his loss if he did not want to fool around, as such, she went out looking for Linde, maybe Berengar's other lover was doing something interesting that she could join in on.

Thus, Berengar was left by his lonesome as he finished off the paperwork regarding his economic overhauls. After many hours of administrative work, Berengar finally completed his workload for the day and sighed heavily after he had completed it. Only one thought escaped from his lips as he rested his weary head in his hands.

"I need to get somebody to do all of this paperwork for me..."

With that having been said, Berengar got up from his seat and sought out his two lovers, he needed to blow off some steam, and now that he was finished with his work, it was the perfect time to do so.

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