Currency

			Academy Library

"The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century. The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity."

— Jean-Luc Picard

Introduction

Phrased perfectly by the Federation Captain Jean Luc Picard, the accumulation of wealth is no longer the driving force behind the Federation. It's primary goal is to seek out new life and new civilizations, protect her assets and citizens from harm, and be a force for good.

Though money is no longer important, a currency continues to exist for the buying and trading within Federation borders and other races. For this article, we are looking at two of the galaxy's popular currencies: the Federation Credit and the Ferengi Latinum.

Federation Credit

The Federation Credit is, in itself, not a physical currency as the United Federation of Planets does not employ a wide currency exchange. It is a unit that represents the basics principle of their economical society.

For worlds allied to the Federation but still using a currency system, a trade and credit exchange known as the Bolian Credit Exchange is maintained by the Bank of Bolias to help control a conversion between non-currency and currency base cultures. This trade exchange is rarely used by the majority of Federation citizens.

Ferengi Gold-Pressed Latinum

Gold-pressed latinum. From left to right, a brick, bar, strip, and slip.

A unique and old financial system, the gold-pressed latinum is by far the most popular among worlds that do not belong to the Federation or are still driven by the idea of fame and fortune. The latinum itself is of value, with the gold being worthless and used only to ease the transportation and use of the liquid latinum in transactions.

From the smallest to largest unit, the Ferengi have the slip, strip, bar, and brick.

100 slips equal 1 strip of latinum.
20 strips equal 1 bar of latinum.
20 bars equal 1 brick of latinum.

Rate of Exchange

Both currencies are considered fixed where the rate of exchange between the two do not fluctuate. This is to assist interstellar trade and give both aligned and nonaligned worlds benchmarks for their own currency. The present rate of exchange is as follow.

The average exchange rate of the credit to latinum is usually 1 strip to 10 credits.

For an easier conversion, this table is provided to assist merchants in calculating costs between the two currencies.

Latinum	Credit
1 Slip	0.1
1 Strip	10
1 Bar	200
1 Brick	4000

OOC Information and Further Reading

Star Trek has often left the details of the Federation economy to viewers' imaginations. The Captains Council leaves the specifics of the Federation economy itself ambiguous, although some extrapolations such as the purpose of the Bolian Credit Exchange and a conversion between Federation credits and gold-pressed latinum have been made here for those players wanting to explore such details and use them in sim.

For those curious about how a moneyless society such as the Federation might work, the following articles discussing possible theories may be of interest: