I really want to use these in an Earthdawn game I hope to run in the not too distant future. There is also a Pathfinder game that I may get to play in at some point as well. I have been going over the in-game economy and trying to decide how many I need to at least get started.
I know there are a goodly number of people out there who use Campaign Coins. What denominations did you start out with and for how many players? Did you tweak with the prices so you didn't need quite so many coins from the get go?
No matter how I slice it, it is going to be spendy. As long as my players don't walk off with them I'm willing to invest a decent amount if that will get things going and add to the pile as funds allow. The current setting I am looking at deals mostly in Silver so the current plan is going with only Silver coins (copper items upped to 1 silver) and the gold trade bars in the 10 and up denomination for 'big purchases' to try and keep my total overhead down.
I know having coins in denominations is not 'authentic'. I have seen that come up quite a lot as I have investigated using these coins. But at basically .80cents per coin I can't really afford 1000 silver for the sake of authenticity.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
Randy
I bought 2 of the full "Starter" sets, which gives you a good variety across all 4 metal types, and traditionally have 3-5 players at my table. The key part about using coins like these is to remember that they're a representation of the coins your character has, not the exact items. As such, they work very well for giving you a tactile sense of your character's wealth.
When I need to represent a large number of coins, I go with washers. You can get 1" steel washers at a hardware store for next to nothing. You're looking for 1/3 oz weight to get the standard coin weight. You can then put them in a leather/velvet/etc pouch for the players. After the roleplaying, you can give them the Campaign Coins to represent the value and take the prop back.