The Iron Magus
See, I considered that, but there's so much gold imagery that actually depicts it as real gold coins. The coins from booty grab, the coins you hoover up after defeating a monster in zOMG, and of course, the coins you get from moving about the site.
And it is called "gold," after all. It's not like... "Gaia Dollars," or anything. It all points to the conclusion that yes, we really do haul kilotons of gold around on a daily basis. x_x
Hmm. You might have a point there, but consider the bitcoin. There's plenty of
imagery that depicts bitcoins as real, solid, gold-looking coins simply because tangible things are easier for a lot of people to comprehend. I posit that Gaia's gold works in a similar way. The coins are largely there for show.
...I say "largely" because in some cases you might be able to perform transactions with the physical coinage.
Casascius bitcoins were hollow; they had a piece of paper inside with a key for the appropriate amount of BTC. This could be likened to the Mythril Coin packages Ian sells in various denominations, circling back to Gaia.
So you can give a Casascius or Mythril Coin to someone if they'll accept it for payment, sure. But in the end the coin itself isn't what has the value, and it has limited utility and flexibility compared to your, uh...digital wallet, for lack of a better phrase.
whee
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