Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 184: Ringol's Expedition (VI) The Value of the Golden Dragon

Ringol did not choose to go to Griffin's Roost with the three hedge knights. For him, going to Griffin's Roost was not very meaningful. He planned to go directly to Storm's End to see what Duke Baratheon wanted to do.

"There are more and more people." Regen looked at the camps next to his own camp with some caution. After more than ten days of trekking, they finally arrived at Storm's End. However, when they set up camp in the woods near Storm's End, many mercenaries and wandering knights summoned by Duke Baratheon had already gathered here, as well as farm soldiers from the villages governed by the Stag.

Knights like Ringol and his companions who had tents were a minority among them, and most of them could only rest on tree stumps.

Only those mercenaries of a decent size had relatively clean and habitable camps.

After they arrived, more and more people gathered nearby. Even the blacksmiths and merchants of Storm's End couldn't stand the loneliness and hurried out to make a fortune.

But before that, Ringol and his companions made a small profit. On the way to Storm's End, the three young men successfully won an order from a merchant with six horses, three complete sets of armor and weapons, and were responsible for escorting him to the market town near Storm's End.

He earned 120 silver deer on this trip. On the way, Alarion also killed two bandits and found two gold dragons from them.

Unfortunately, after settling down and checking, Lingol told his two companions regretfully that the two gold royals were actually not worth much.

The way to judge is very simple. The heads of the two golden dragons are one of Rhaenyra's and one of Aegon the Usurper. The gold coins minted in those months were mixed with a lot of impurities because the two "kings" were not very good at being human beings.

So after the war, the batch of golden dragons that were cast also lost their rightful status. At that time, Ringol patiently explained the various currencies commonly used in Westeros to two companions who obviously did not listen carefully.

The complicated copper coins are much more stable. The smallest denomination is the copper plate, which is also the currency used by most people in daily life. In this summer of harvest, one copper plate can buy a sausage or a little flour. Two copper plates are equivalent to one copper cent. The copper cent coin is also the most commonly used copper coin. Together with copper plates, it dominates the farmers' market. In addition, there are several rare copper coins, such as four copper cents can be exchanged for one copper wheat, and two copper wheat can be exchanged for one copper star.

Slightly wealthier merchants, knights and lords used silver and gold coins more often. There were two main types of silver coins. The silver stag, which was decorated with the coat of arms of Orys Baratheon, the friend of Aegon the Conqueror and the Hand of the King, and was actually the coat of arms of the Storm King, was the most popular type of silver coin, and was worth fifty-six copper cents. There was also a silver moon coin with a moon engraved on it, which was less circulated. According to the announcement of the mint and the chancellor of the treasury, this silver coin was worth seven silver stags. In this era, there was only one type of gold coin in circulation: the gold dragon, with the three-headed dragon of the Targaryen family on one side and the head of the king on the other. The official value of a gold dragon was 210 silver stags.

But the gold dragon is not the only gold coin in Westeros. Some people in the Riverlands still use the gold balance coins left by the Fairmen. Because there are few of them left, and the Fairmen are indeed as their name suggests, they are willing to spend money on gold coins, so the value of a gold balance coin is roughly equivalent to three gold dragons. The gold hand coins once minted by the Gardener family of the River Kingdom still appear in the southern market, but the Gardener family is not as honest as the Fairmen family. The gold coins are smaller and are only worth half a gold dragon.

In Dorne, although the Golden Sun coins once minted by the Martell family still exist, Dorne resisted the unification of the Targaryens at a very early time, but did not resist the system and currency they brought, so the Golden Sun coins withdrew from circulation early on. Now most of them have been melted to cast gold dragons, or to cast other gold objects.

But the value of gold dragons minted in different periods is also different. The gold dragons with the heads of Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys I, and Aegon and Dragonzir are the most valuable gold coins. The one with the head of Viserys I is inferior. The gold dragon with the head of Jaehaerys I is of the best quality and the highest value, but most people don't use it for trading now. It was not until this time that Ringol realized that he had lost money when buying the horse.

I regret this.

As for the golden dragons forged by Queen Rhaenyra and Aegon the Usurper
God of the Seven, whether they can compare in value with the Golden Hand Coins depends on their wear and tear and how many impurities they contain.

"We won't compete with them." Ringol checked everyone's equipment and picked up the two captured gold dragons after making sure they were all right. "Regan, let's go find the blacksmith, Alarion. I'll have to trouble you to stay and look after the camp."

In the camp, Ringol no longer had to call them by their fake names, and his upbringing meant that there was no need to worry about him calling them by their real names when they were outside.

"Ah?" Lei Geng was a little confused. They were now fully equipped.

"I'll repair a set of breastplates for you." Lingol pointed at the blacksmith who was shouting something loudly. Opposite him were a few timid mercenaries. A few sets of tattered armor could be vaguely seen on a car nearby.

Presumably, these mercenaries had something to do with one or several well-equipped wandering knights, and those "knights" were no match for these mercenaries.

This also means new equipment for Reagon and Elarion.

"And a shield." Lingol calculated that the two gold dragons were worth about 230 silver deer. If possible, he would need to add some more money to buy two breastplates and three shields.

So he took out another golden dragon. This should be enough, the boy thought.

The blacksmith of Storm's End was a middle-aged strong man with a dark beard. He had just bought five or six tattered pieces of armor at a low price from a group of mercenaries who had suffered from the plague. He was now very happy.

Even if he took these things back directly, he could still make a lot of money.

Just as he was thinking about how to deal with the scrap metal, Ringol and Regen walked to his stall and took a look at the goods on his stall. Weapons were the main items, and oak shields were neatly piled at his feet, with almost no armor in sight.

The blacksmith also noticed the two of them. Although he was a commoner, he had served in Storm's End for many years and was good at judging ages. The blacksmith could tell at a glance that the two teenagers were not very old.

No more than fifteen years old.

Glancing at the clothes the two teenagers were wearing, Lingol was wearing a slim leather jacket, which looked clean and tidy, while Lei Geng's clothes were much rougher, but not too different. There wasn't much wear and tear, and no obvious bloodstains, which meant that the two young men either had never seen blood, or were really tough guys. There was probably another possibility in common between the two.

These two young men were born into a large family. They were the second or third sons of the family, or even the eldest sons who had gone out to gain experience.
The blacksmith felt that he had to take this game seriously.

"Here are the shields. If you need weapons, you can take a look at the ones already on display. Armor needs to be customized. If you need a coat of arms on the shield, you can tell me." The blacksmith gathered his thoughts and looked at the two teenagers. He patted his chest confidently and said, "I have learned painting from the castle's bachelor. As long as you can describe what you want to draw, I can draw it."

"We need two breastplates." Ringol took out the two gold dragons. "And three shields."

The blacksmith was stunned for a moment, took the gold dragon from Lingol, looked at it, and frowned: "This Sir." He raised his head with some effort. "Two sets of breastplates, if no other accessories are needed, it will be 230 silver deer. I can charge a little less for the three shields. A total of 322 silver deer, enough, but..."

Lingol thought for a moment and prepared to take out the spare gold dragon, but Lei Geng quietly held down his wallet.

"The usurper's gold coins are also considered gold coins, right? Even though he is a traitor, he also minted coins with gold, right?"

The blacksmith nodded. He had to admit that Aegon's gold coin was also a gold dragon, although it was worth much less.

"We acknowledge this and will calculate it according to the price of the usurper's gold dragon, but Queen Rhaenyra is the legitimate king, and its value is guaranteed by the kingdom. You."

"I know, I know." The blacksmith broke out in a cold sweat. Duke Borros of Storm's End was paying close attention to this matter. He had always felt that he had offended Queen Rhaenyra's lineage because of some well-known things in the Dance with the Dragons, so he had been living cautiously.

The two little guys were obviously very clear about these things, and it once again proved that they came from a big family.

I dare not offend this.

He didn't dare to offend the Duke in this matter.

"Sir, it's okay, absolutely okay." The blacksmith rushed to his cart and took out two almost new breastplates with great effort.

It was not a recycled product. Lingol could even see the stag emblem on the breastplate had been worn off.

"Sir, these two pieces are in stock, and..." The blacksmith's eyes measured the bodies of Regen and Ringol like a ruler, and then decisively pushed the two breastplates in front of the boys. "It's very suitable, very suitable. So, for these two golden dragons, I will also cover the paintings on your shields."

"No charge." The blacksmith said with a hearty smile.

The riverside at this time.

Red Fork River.

A caravan was moving slowly along the river.

The silver-haired man in the lead suddenly raised his hand and looked at the carriage behind.

"Great Master, this is it."

This is the first update. There will be another update after the revisions are completed.

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(End of this chapter)