Re: Currency of the 'Verse...
Fun with money! A show-off thread, with many sexy pictures!
(You may want to skip ahead now :lol)
So, when I'm not binge sleeping or rotting my brain with TV / movies / internet / smut, I consider myself something of a graphically-inclined designer-person.
I like sci-fi (duh), and occasionally design fictional money - I have mentioned that before, right?
Recently intrigued by
Shapeways, I crudely designed and had manufactured some 'coins'. The largest coin with the hole you see below is my favorite. I had rather modest tools at my disposal:
TinkerCAD Beta.
My coin is solid stainless steel (with some amount of bronze I don't know), and is almost exactly the same size as a Morgan silver dollar (the big coin with the eagle in my pics). That's 3.75 cm diameter or 1.5 inches in diameter.
This coin cost me about $30 US.
Note: there are other materials that Shapeways can 'print' in - Many others! Much cheaper options.
Much cheaper.
Custom metal coins are cool as heck, but please shop around if you plan to get any done. I
cannot recommend following my path.
Besides my exciting, futuristic, oriental, geometric 'Space Dollar', there are also some tiny, wretched Japanese Sen from circa WWII. Way too small to be any fun as props, FYI. I've also got an old US half-dollar (the larger coin with the lady's head facing to the right) and a nice copper Japanese coin (1 Yen, I think). Lovely toning and art on that, but a bit small and pricy to be a fun or useful prop.
Here are the last two coins, and I think this is rather clever - they're game tokens. Pachinko, I think. They are the lady facing to the left and the Japanese text surrounded by the fire / sunburst design. So, if you haven't thought about using (metal) play money or game tokens for 'filler' coins, give it a look-see. Depending on appearance and cost, it might be a reasonable idea.
Below all the coins are several banknotes, in various sizes, colors, designs and denominations. The 'matched set' with the sullen-looking gentleman in the funny hat are current Mongolian Tugrik, from eBay.
The one on the left with the big "$5" is my replica Train Job bar scene bill, available freely here & at FireflyProps.net. The rhinoceros is a reprint of a South African Rand bill, with some added 'character' by me. The "One-Uno" dollar note is entirely by me, but frankly isn't designed to fit in the Firefly universe. More of a Blade Runner theme going on there. Same thing with the rhino, actually ... No comments from the peanut gallery!
The note that says "Construction Bank" is a Chinese 'training' banknote from eBay. While Chinese 'training' bills can be had in large quantities relatively cheaply, and they are 'normal' banknote sized (assuming you get them in a Yuan denomination, and not Jiao), they are designed and executed cheaply. I'd actually recommend springing for the real Jiao from the 1980's - they're relatively cheap and look great. Slightly smaller than 'normal' banknotes, so let the buyer beware. Do your homework! Or print out fake money at home.
The last two bills, the Farmers Bank of Lilac, are my own design. Still a work-in-progress.
And here are the reasonable-size pictures, below. If you would like larger pics, perhaps for desktop backgrounds, just ask nicely.
I hope you've had a good ride - y'all come back now, y'hear?
-Mike J.
