The Mark is the unit of currency on Pern. It is, however, worth substantially more than the American dollar; 1/16 of a mark will buy a loaf of bread, so you can think of a Mark as being about $16-$20. Prices for most daily items are well under a Mark.
The Mark is a stamped wooden disk with the sigil of the Hold or Craft which issued it. It comes in the following denominations:
1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 100 Marks.
Generally, people have few marks, 20 being a small fortune. As such, it is very unlikely that anyone other than a Lord Holder, Holder, Craftmaster, or Weyrwoman/Weyrleader would ever have a 100-Mark piece since they are quite rare.
Prices and information are taken from the 'The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern'
| MARK |
BUYING
POWER
|
|
| 1/32 | Six bubbly pies | |
| 1/16 | 1 small (1-pound) loaf of bread | |
| 1/8 | - | |
| 1/4 | A fowl | |
| 1/2 | A
bottle of unremarkable wine A sack of nuts in the shell A sack of Crom coal |
|
| 1 |
A plain leather belt with bronze buckle A sack of fine-milled pastry flour A plain shirt A child's frock A small knife One young ovine A keg of ale A pair of moccasins A hand-sized hardwood box with hinges and hasp An apprentice-made musical pipe A whetstone A graduated-bead necklace of agate or quartz A jade bangle bracelet 1/8 of a bovine heartbeats |
|
| 2 | A
sack of sweetening An ornamental belt |
|
| 5 | - | |
| 10 | A runnerbeast (9+ marks) | |
| 100 | - | |
|
Other costs: Used runnerbeast riding tack - 3 marks New runnerbeast riding tack, decorated for a Lord Holder - 12 marks or more
|
||
