Qik

Qik
益
Current notes Current coins
ISO 4217
Code	ARC
Denominations
Subunit
​1⁄20	㒳 (rang)
​1⁄480	朱 (twa)
​1⁄4800	圭 (kwi)
Symbol	₳ᶜ
㒳 (rang)	t
朱 (twa)	p
圭 (kwi)	g
Banknotes
Freq. used	€1, €5, €10, €50
Rarely used	€100, €500, €1,000, €5,000, €10,000
Coins
Freq. used	1₥, 5₥, 10₥, 50₥
Rarely used	1p, 5p
Demographics
Date of introduction	1817
User(s)	Themiclesia
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of Themiclesia
Valuation
Inflation	2.12%
Source	2016 est.

The qik (益, qik) is the official currency of Themiclesia, also known as the gold catty or Themiclesian gold mark. Formerly on the gold standard, it was defined in 1879 as ​⁴⁸⁄₁₂₅ of the standard kilogram, which is equivalent to 12.3459 troy oz.  The legal sub-units of the qik are the tael (㒳, rang), ​¹⁄₂₀ of the qik, and the mace (朱, twa), ​¹⁄₂₄ of the tael, and the grain (圭, kwi), ​¹⁄₁₀ of the mace.  

Etymology

Natively, the catty is distinct from the gold catty, the former written 益 qik. Both are derivatives of the same basic unit, the Themiclesian tael (㒳, rang), but the catty is 16 taels, while the gold catty is 20 taels. The gold catty was used as a unit to measure the mass of gold and also of value of other moneys, but not their weight. The term "Themiclesian gold mark" was used in some commercial contexts but is no longer common; it is derived from the mark as a unit of comparable mass, not the Ostlandic currency of the same name.

History

Gold lumps, c. 300 CE, weighing about 1 qik each

As an inherited unit of account from Menghe, the gold catty has survived in that role, if only in name, from the Classical Period. Until the 17th century, gold lumps and bronze coin were co-official currencies. Exchange rates were periodically altered by order, though an independent market rate typically existed alongside. Native Themiclesian gold originated from only a few locations and was not very common until the opening of the Maracaibean trade in 694. As Vitric peoples who inhabited Maracaibo undervalued gold, it was liberally exchanged for fabrics, weapons, and vessels. The influx of Vitric gold encouraged the growth of cities and created an alterative government income from agricultural taxes paid in kind, and some scholars theorize that it may have spelled the downfall of the Mrangh dynasty that relied on agrarian economy.

Gold was the main medium for high-value and long-distance transactions, but bronze coins (even thousands of them) were still dominant in local contexts. In 770, gold coins for circulation were first cast by the government mint. Prior to this time, gold was traded by weight, even though most gold pieces for trade were cast into specific shapes for aesthetic reasons. These early "coins" were large by modern standards and resembled saucers in shape; the location and master of the mint were usually engraved into the die. Early coins had no design, but subsequently ornaments were introduced both for aesthetic and confidence reasons. Privately cast coins circulated alongside those minted by the government, and from contemporary descriptions it appears gold was still principally traded by weight.

In the 17th century, copper lost its status as a separate, valuable metal and was coined as representations of gold specie. Existing bronze currency was never demonetized, being instead revalued in gold. Despite representing a quantity of gold, the inscription on bronze coins bears out the weight of the coin in copper, and not the amount of gold the bronze coin is valued as. Thus, the Two-Third Tael (泰半) piece nominally weighed ​²⁄₃ of a tael or 12.67 g, but this was reduced to 8 g in 1962 without altering the text on the coin. Regardless of the actual weight of the coin or the text upon it, the Two-Third Tael piece traded as three pennyweights in gold.

In 1877, the qik was decimalized with all values relative to the qik changed. There were 100 new taels to the qik, 10 new mace to the new tael, and 10 new grain to the new mace. Thus, in 1877, each tael was worth $1.89, each mace $0.189, and each grain $0.0189. The exchange rates were:

• 1 new tael = ​¹⁄₅ old tael, v.v. 1 old tael = 5 new tael
• 1 new mace = ​¹²⁄₂₅ old mace, v.v. 1 old mace = 2​¹⁄₁₂ new mace
• 1 new grain = ​¹²⁄₂₅ old grain, v.v. 1 old grain = 2​¹⁄₁₂ new grain

In 1949, the gold standard was abolished, allowing the qik to float freely, which initially traded at $395 on Nov. 15, 1949; it remains one of Septentrion's most valuable moneys on a unit-for-unit basis.

Notation

Pre-decimalization

The notation of the qik prior to decimalization in 1879 is governed by common usage.

• 3 mace, being ​¹⁄₈ of a tael, was noted as ／, the top half of the symbol for 6 mace.
• 6 mace, being ​¹⁄₄ of a tael, was noted as く, being one third of the shorthand for ​³⁄₄ of a tael (viz. below).
• 8 mace, being ​¹⁄₃ of a tael, was noted as 小 smaw, shorthand for 小半㒳, smaw-prān-rang or "smaller division of a tael".
• 12 mace, being ​¹⁄₂ of a tael, was noted as 平 bring, sort for 平半㒳, bring-prān-rang or "even division of a tael".
• 16 mace, being ​²⁄₃ of a tael, was noted as 大 lats, short for 大半㒳, lats-prān-rang or "larger division of a tael".
• 18 mace, being ​³⁄₄ of a tael, was noted as 巛, being the top half of the character 甾, which originally meant 6 mace.

Thus, 1 tael and 8 mace would be written as 㒳小, short for 㒳又小半㒳, "tael and smaller division of a tael". 150 qik, 19 tael, and 18 mace would be noted as 百又五十益又十又九㒳巛, "hundred and fifty qik and ten and nine rang and eighteen mace".

• 16 taels was written as 金 krem or "gold". This practice was common in the jewellery business, which also writes 艮 ngul or "silver" to note 16 taels of silver.  krem does not co-exist with qik in notation: 36 taels cannot be expressed as 益又金, "qik and krem", even though their sum is 36 taels.

Anglian-style

It was common in certain trades, though not all and especially not in the accounting profession, to use an Anglian-style notation to specify taels, maces, and grains separated by hyphens.

• 19-23-7 would stand for 19 taels, 23 maces, and 7 grains, i.e. 1 grain short of 1 qik.
• 12-0-7 would stand for 12 taels and 7 grain.
• 0-0-7 would stand for 7 grain.

This kind of notation was never used to specify quantities in qik. After decimalization, the Anglian-style notation remained in use, only reflecting new currency.

• 52-3-2 would stand for 52 new taels, 3 maces, and 2 grains; however, this figure could also be expressed as 52.32 in other trades.

Coins

Ancient Menghean currency appearing on the reverse of the 1p piece

All coins of the gold catty are marked for denomination in Shinasthana and in Tyrannian (by latent text) on the obverse; plain text denomination in Shinasthana and Tyrannian, year of minting, and one of several graphical designs, which may be pictorial or geometric.

The 50₥ piece one of the world's larger and heavier circulating coins, at 37.5 mm in diameter and 45 g in mass. Its large diameter provides a generous canvas for more complex and lifelike engravings, as well as more advanced security features, being also one the world's more valuable coins by denomination.

Denom.	Value 2020 Int'l$	Material	Obverse	Reverse	Diameter
1p	$0.03	92% Al, 8% Cu	Bird	Spade currency	15 mm (0.59 in)
The 1p piece is no longer minted regularly
5p	$0.15	92% Al, 8% Cu	Marine life	Spade currency	18 mm (0.71 in)
1₥	$0.30	89% Cu, 10% Sn, 1% Zn	Geography	Turtle	21 mm (0.83 in)
5₥	$1.50		Navigation	Whale	26 mm (1.0 in)
10₥	$2.99	Plug 80% Cu, 20% Ni; ring 95% Cu, 5% Sn	Mythology, astronomy	Map of Themiclesia	31 mm (1.2 in)
50₥	$14.95	Plug 80% Cu, 20% Ni; inner ring Bi; outer ring 95% Cu, 5% Sn	Air transport	Albatross	37.5 mm (1.48 in)

Notes

There are two classes of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Themiclesia; the more common are the "General Tender" (通貨, l′wang-nhw′rar) notes that have legal tender status in all transactions, and the lesser-encountered "Convertible Tender" (准通貨, lrjur-l′wang-nhw′rar) notes that are instruments redeemed at the Central Bank to the bearer. Convertible Tender notes are not legal tender for transactions except between banks, when physically counting and checking each note transferred is impractical or undesirable, or to satisfy laws requiring that a certain amount of money be kept available centrally or at each branch.

€50, 1951

All Themiclesian notes since the 1950 revision of the third series possess the following common features: 75% cotton, 25% silk paper; intaglio printing for denomination, issuer, official seals, images, Guilloché patterns, dots for visually impaired; reflective metallic foil strip; watermark; ultraviolet text, images, fibres; infrared text and Guilloché patterns; latent text and images; serial number; visible and ultraviolet microscopic print. Those of denomination €500 and above also possess a very thin layer of silk, woven with special fibres and into patterns with text, around which paper pulp is poured and the substrate formed; these are considerably thicker than notes in lower denominations.

€50, 1951

Denom.	Value Int'l$	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Dimensions
€1	$29.91	Blue	Watermark strawberries, rice paddies	Ice age fauna	7 3⁄8 in × 4 in (187.3 mm × 101.6 mm)
€5	$149.54	Aqua	Watermark oranges, digital logic	Primitive humans in cave scene	7 5⁄8 in × 4 1⁄8 in (193.7 mm × 104.8 mm)
€10	$299.08	Gold	Watermark canteloupe, library scene	Tropical forest flora and fauna	7 7⁄8 in × 4 1⁄4 in (200.0 mm × 108.0 mm)
€50	$1,495.39	Teal	Watermark peaches, science laboratory scene	Mesozoic life scene	8 1⁄8 in × 4 3⁄8 in (206.4 mm × 111.1 mm)
€100	$2,990.77	Red	Watermark mangosteen, particle accelerator	Permean life scene	8 3⁄8 in × 4 1⁄2 in (212.7 mm × 114.3 mm)
€500	$14,953.85	Crimson	Watermark pears, bronze vessels	Cambrian to Carboniferous life scene	8 5⁄8 in × 4 5⁄8 in (219.1 mm × 117.5 mm)
Notes below are Convertible Tender, not intended for circulation and are not legal tender anywhere except at the Central Bank of Themiclesia.
€1,000	$29,907.70	Crimson	Watermark watermelons, ancient land survey	Ediacaran biota, flat worms	9 in × 4 3⁄4 in (228.6 mm × 120.7 mm)
€5,000	$149,538.52	Crimson	Watermark plums, royal court sene	Cnidarians, Ctenophora, Acoelomorpha
€10,000	$299,077.03	Crimson	Watermark taro, ancient astronomers	Porifera

Size issue

When printed in the first half of the 20th century, Themiclesian banknotes (starting at 7.375 in. in length) in normal circulation were not unusually large. However, since many Casaterran states adopted the printing of smaller notes (average 6 in.), Themiclesian notes appeared much larger. In Casaterra, large notes were in circulation with smaller ones until the 50s. By 1959, the Themiclesian Central Bank prepared to shink its notes, but political and economic uncertainty in the 60s, then economic stagnation in the 70s, required the Central Bank to shift its attention, which left the notes unchanged. By the 90s, Themiclesia was one of very few states still issuing "large" notes, which sometimes failed to fit into slimmer or shorter wallets.

At this point, the Union of Wallet Makers in Themiclesia lobbied heavily against shrinking the banknotes, which served, in effect, as a barrier to entry for foreign wallet manufacturers. The Central Bank itself was disinclined to reduce the size of notes as well, stating that shrinking the notes would require a complete replacement of almost all printing apparatus in the mint, as well as the obsolescence of a large variety of banknote-counting machines already in use in private and public institutions. As such, the fourth series, which began to circulate in 2000, retained their original size, much to the chagrin of tourists.

Previous issues

Series	Issuer(s)/Theme(s)	Issue/Revisions	Denominations	Stopped issuing	Demonetized	Notes
I	Coastal Bank Mercantile Bank	1817, '54, '61	Notes: €1, €5, €10, €50, €100 Coins: ¼p ⅓p ½p 1p, 2p, 5p, 1₥, 5₥, 10₥, 20₥, 50₥	1872(?)	1950
II	C&C Bank: ships CMC Bank: plants	1870, '80, '95	Notes: €1, €5, €10, €50, €100, €500, €1,000, €5,000, €10,000 Coins: ⅓p ½p 1p, 5p, 1₥, 5₥, 10₥, 50₥	1913	1950
III	CBT: central bank building	1917, '30, '48, '63, '80, '98	Notes: €1, €5, €10, €50, €100, €500, €1,000, €5,000, €10,000 Coins: 1p, 5p, 1₥, 5₥, 10₥, 50₥	2007	Circulating
IV	CBT: prehistoric life	2003, '17	Notes: €1, €5, €10, €50, €100, €500, €1,000, €5,000, €10,000 Coins: 1₥, 5₥, 10₥, 50₥	Current	Circulating

Counterfeiting

Debasement and clipping

Themiclesian currency has been subject to debasement and clipping since antiquity. When the value of the coin was supposedly linked to the amount of metal used to make it, lightening the coin by removing some of its metal content (called "clipping") resulted in reduced desirability; carried to the extreme, this led to such difficulties while trading that coins ceased to be liquid at all, even valued for metal content only. Currency made with precious metals were subject to a different measure, debasement, which is the adulteration of precious metal with a less valuable one, usually done without disturbing the mass of the piece to avoid easy detection. While chipping results in lightened currency that may still be accepted due government fiat declaring all recognizable coins to be equal in value, merchants are much less likely to do so for precious metals. Testing for debasement is generally much more difficult than chipping.

Forgery

In the modern age, clipping is no longer common as a measure to extract metal from coins; nor is debasement, since precious metals are no longer found in circulating currency. Forgery of banknotes have assumed the vast majority of counterfeit currency, by piece and by value, in modern Themiclesia. The notes of the highest denominations, €1,000, €5,000, and €10,000 are rarely subject to forgery, since they are only legal tender at the Central Bank, which maintains special authenticating measures that are not disclosed to the public for these notes. The €500 and €100 notes, though legal tender, are likewise unpopular targets, since their large value again prompts merchants to examine each note much more carefully. Most counterfeit notes are €10, €5, and €1 notes, which account for around 99.2% of all circulating notes.

In the late 1990s, it was revealed that Themiclesian notes of the €100 and €500 denominations have been subject to particularly concentrated efforts at counterfeiting. This situation may have escaped notice for several years due to the convoluted way in which the fraudulent money was exchanged. After extensive investigation by the Yugoslovenski authorities, various criminal associations based in Yugoslovenski have been producing counterfeit €100 and €500 notes in very remote places and then exporting them to the Organized States to exchange into the OS Dollar, and then subsequently converted into Yugoslovenski's Dinar. The OS authorities did not notice these irregularities initially, due to the relative rarity of the €100 and €500 denominations, which meant forgeries were not as easily discerned. By 1998, around €1,220,000 (approx. $35 million OSD) in counterfeit had been exchanged at various small-scale currency exchange operations or remote bank branches, and a roughly equal amount has been withdrawn from the Yugoslovenski treasury. This operation, along with several others, eventually prompted the Central Bank of Themiclesia to issue new notes in 2003, with additional security features that addressed most of the weaknesses that allowed the Yugoslovenski forgeries to transpire.

High-denomination issues

While it is technically illegal to refuse a large-denomination note that is legal tender, courts have been lenient on sellers if the note offered was unreasonably high-valued for a small purchase, or when the purchaser refuses to use more friendly denominations, if any he had. In addition, courts have also accepted that if the merchant did not have sufficient cash on hand to produce change for a given payment, then the transaction can be cancelled without any penalty to either party. These decisions have caused a considerable share of small vendors to refuse notes above a given denomination (e.g. €10), to avoid receiving highly-valued counterfeit notes at great cost; when reported with the police, policemen have been known to guide the purchaser to a nearby bank to exchange for lower denominations.

Some experts have assessed the lingering presence of €10,000 to €500 notes "a relic of a non-digital era", when transporting large amounts of banknotes would have been more common, and higher denominations between two trusted parties would have made transactions more manageable. Not all of them agree that these denominations should be demonetized; some state that such notes are so rare, that counterfeiting is a non-issue in casual transactions, in which counterfeit notes, except the most sophisticated ones, mostly circulate. The historical interpretation gains credence when these notes are measured: their large size meant they fit better in a folder or suitcase than wallet, probably indicating that the Central Bank never meant for them to stay in one.

See also

• Themiclesia