Akashian ryō

Akashian ryō
Ryō
ISO 4217
Code	AKR
Denominations
Symbol	㋷
Banknotes
Freq. used	㋷1.000, ㋷5.000, ㋷10.000, ㋷50.000, ㋷100.000
Coins
Freq. used	㋷1, ㋷5, ㋷10, ㋷50, ㋷100, ㋷500
Demographics
User(s)	Akashi
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of Akashi
Valuation
Pegged with	Common Monetary System

The ryō (Miranian: 両 ryō; Gothic: 𐍂𐌾𐍉 rjō; symbol: ㋷; code: AKR) is the official currency of Akashi. It is issued by the National Bank of Akashi, based in Hirakawa.

It is part of Common Monetary System, and its value is pegged within a currency band with other Common Sphere currencies.

Etymology

It is named after the ryō, a traditional Miranian unit of weight, used for gold coins. The name was preserved for the currency after Akashi officially adopted the metric system.

Sign

The official sign for the ryō is a katakana ri in a circle. Its shape is suggestive of the way ryō is written in katakana (リョー).

History

The ryō was introduced in the modern period, superseding the previous system of coinage with regional paper scrip.

It used a bimetallic standard against gold and silver, until abandoning it during the 1930s depression. It had a floating exchange rate from the end of the Akashian Civil War until entering the Common Monetary System.

The former subunits, the sen (錢) and the rin (厘), were rendered obsolete by inflation and withdrawn in 1942.

The ryō's international convertibility was suspended twice:

• In 1977, by Kasumi Kuroki's "black budget". Restrictions were gradually lifted under Ran Tsukuda until full convertibility was restored in 1985.
• In 1990, by Shinobu Furukawa's government. Restrictions were gradually lifted under Ran Tsukuda until full convertibility was restored in 2002.

Cash rounding was introduced in 1988. Currently, prices are rounded to the nearest ㋷5, making the ㋷1 coin less common.

Coins

The ryō coin designs omit the year of minting and are simple, featuring the value on the obverse and the emblem on the reverse. Smooth edges are used for values starting with 1, and reeded edges for values starting with 5.

Current þaler coin series
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
	㋷1	20 mm	1 g	Copper	Smooth	Value	Emblem
	㋷5	22 mm	2,5 g	Cupronickel	Reeded	Value	Emblem
	㋷10	23,5 mm	2,25 g	Copper-plated aluminium	Smooth	Value	Emblem
	㋷50	24 mm	4 g	Cupronickel	Reeded	Value	Emblem
	㋷100	26,5 mm	6,5 g	Aluminium bronze	Smooth	Value	Emblem
	㋷500	28 mm	10 g	Nickel brass	Reeded	Value	Emblem

Banknotes

The ryō banknotes all feature the emblem on one side. They have different sizes according to value to help the vision-impaired. They eschew portraits in favour of Akashian landscapes, flora, and fauna.

Image		Value	Dimensions (millimetres)	Main colour	Description
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		㋷1.000	120 × 65 mm	Blue	Value, emblem	Value, wave pattern
		㋷5.000	125 × 65 mm	Red	Value, emblem	Value, cherry blossoms
		㋷10.000	135 × 65 mm	Green	Value, emblem	Value, green woodpecker
		㋷50.000	145 × 70 mm	Yellow	Value, emblem	Value, sunflowers
		㋷100.000	155 × 70 mm	Cyan	Value, emblem	Value, school of salmon

Exchange rates

The ryō operates a crawling peg regime within the currency band of the Common Monetary System.

Traditionally, it has been one of the Common Sphere's more undervalued currencies, together with the Gylian þaler. The low value is important to Akashi's state-driven economic planning and export-oriented industrial policy.

The exchange rate is generally in the range of ㋷200 to ㋷500 for 1 NSD.

Other currencies

Local currencies and sectoral currencies exist in Akashi, pegged at parity with the ryō.