Karmic Dollar
| Subdivision | 1 karmic dollar = 100 karmic cents (kc) |
| Exchange Rate to USD | 1.00 : US$ 1.5412 (Jan 31st, 2006) |
| In use since | 1882 |
| Currency Code | Mk$ |
| Symbol | k$ |
The karmic dollar is the national currency of McPsychoville, and is the only currency the main banks in McPsychoville accept. Much like its American and Canadian counterparts, one karmic dollar is split into a hundred karmic cents. The karmic dollar’s value has recently been very high, both when compared with the US dollar and individually, but oddly is not seen as being particularly strong.
History
The origins of the karmic dollar are sketchy at best. The dollar had recently been introduced by American and Canadian migrants, who struggled with the archaic 'Ranh' system of currency, and it was accepted by the McPsychovillian societies as being a better alternative to the Ranh. However, the story goes that a small portion of the migrants were Buddhists, and believed in the concept of karma. Believing many of the party to be sinful in some way or another, one of these people re-christened the dollar the karmic dollar.
While this is the widely-accepted story, there is a growing consortium of scholars who believe that there is something more to this myth. Allegedly, the value of the karmic dollar has been highest in the times when McPsychoville has been least sinful - i.e. has not been involved in conflict, has had low crime and drug abuse and so on, so forth - and this has lead to these scholars claiming that the McPsychovillian government has to change its political ethos ‘for the good of the economy’.
The karmic dollar has maintained a fairly stable exchange rate. At the close of trade January 31st, one karmic dollar bought 2.84 US dollars - the highest the McPsychoville/United States exchange rate has ever risen - but it usually hovers somewhere around the 1.6 US$ mark.
Trade and Exchange Rates
With McPsychoville’s recent re-classification as having an ‘All-Consuming’ economical status, the karmic dollar has experienced a jump in rates. Some of the rates against prominent Alliance nations are shown below:
Gothria - 3.1654 Ankhs
Kegmenistan - 0.8492 Kegros
Roudland - 0.8970 Roudollars
Super Rome - 0.9012 Denarii
Yew Island - 6.2429 Yewros
Denominations
Like many nations, McPsychoville operates using a mixture of coins and notes for currency. There are currently 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 karmic cent pieces, and a 1 karmic dollar coin - the karmic cent pieces are made using an alloy of nickel, steel and tiny amounts of silver, while the karmic dollar coin is an alloy of bronze, gold and brass, which gives it a distinctive dark gold colour. The small amount of silver is down to the fact that there are so many karmic cents in circulation that to use more than trace amounts would require vast quantities of silver; quantities much greater than contained within McPsychoville.
Of karmic dollars, there are a number of notes in use - 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 150 karmic dollar notes. While none of them are in short supply, there are comparatively few 100 and 150 notes in circulation because for large purchases most citizens prefer to use credit cards, both for ease of use and greater security.
The Bit System
The Bit system was first introduced in 1927, in Praetonia, where it was used as a way of making international currency transactions far easier for all involved. While not used a public unit of currency, the Bit is accepted as legal tender in all McPsychovillian banks, and even though most major currencies share the McPsychovillian method of subdivision, the Bit is still referred for multi-national commercial matters.
Evolution
The coins themselves have changed little; the designs on the karmic cent pieces have remained identical - except during the War of Independence, for obvious reason - bearing Canadian motifs such as the maple leaf. The karmic dollar coin, on the other hand, has recently changed - in 1985, the old design (that of a warrior riding a horse) was altered to show the McPsychovillian thistle - as have the materials used; from brass and gold to an alloy of bronze, brass and gold, resulting in its darker gold colouring.
The earlier karmic dollar coin, dating from 1962.
The latest version, bearing the McPsychovillian thistle in gold.
In 1997, the Canadian Empire celebrated its four hundredth anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, a number of new karmic cent pieces were manufactured in the McPsychovillian Central Bank, bearing the maple leaf in platinum, shown below:
