Coins of Glorantha Part 2

Posted on June 6, 2012

Submitted by Jeff on Wed, 06/06/2012 – 03:00

Part 2 of the Coins of Glorantha series. Here’s the art description for some coins from Seshnela, Ralios, Kralorela, and a troll Bolg! Let’s start with my crude sketch:

Coin A: SESHNEGI SILVER IMPERIAL

A mostly round, silver coin about the size of a 20 cent Euro coin (or an American quarter). The quality of this coin is very high.

Front: Profile of a fat Seshnegi king. He has a big mustache and square earrings. He looks like this (except fatter): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Chastana.jpg On the edges of the coin are written Gloranthan runes.

Reverse: The Serpent Crown of Seshnela (with six snakes) supports the All-Seeing Eye of the Invisible God inside a triangle (which is inside a circle). Beneath the Serpent Crown is the Communication Rune. On the edges are written Gloranthan runes.

Coin B: SENTANOS DUCAT

A small round, silver coin about the size of a 5 cent Euro coin (or an American dime). The quality of this coin is not as high as Coin A.

Front: A horned figure sits in a lotus position (reminiscent of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Shiva_Pashupati.jpg). Within his horns is a rune made of three arrows. Beneath him is a sword. Above his hands are Gloranthan runes.

Reverse: A bare-breasted queen wearing a long dress. In her left hand is a snake, in her right hand rests the rune made of three arrows. Gloranthan runes are on the edge of the coin. The coin is based on: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Ashvacoin.jpg

Coin C: KRALORI COPPER COIN

A perfectly round, coin coin with a square hole in the center. It is about the size of a 2 Euro coin.

Front: Four Gloranthan runes surround the square hole, one on each side.

Reverse: blank.

Coin D: TROLL BOLG

This crude lump of lead is market by a troll’s incisors and tusks biting through the lead (here is a picture of a troll skull on Claudia’s blog). It is crude and looks chewed on (which is in fact correct).

Front: The bolg has two holes from where the troll bit down on it.

Reverse: Reverse of the front.

Submitted by phf on Wed, 06/06/2012 – 07:49.

I love all the new art direction! The coins are especially great! I wonder, do the Trolls bite the coin only in the process of it’s creation or is it “authenticated” each time it passes hands? So some are going to be bigger or smaller and might have more holes if bitten multiple times?

Submitted by metcalph on Wed, 06/06/2012 – 06:37.

Nice (although the Seshnegi coin being a silver imperial was a bit too repetitive for my liking, although I suppose they could claim to have invented it in the Silver Empire and it is the Lunars who are being copycats.  Hmm.  That makes sense… ).

Is the woman on the Sentanos Ducat Erengazor?  The Arkati rune fits in with her Proven Appearance of Arkat but the snake in the other hand makes me think of the Estali.

There is an authentic word for chinese coins that is readily familiar to the average reader, could be used for Kralori coins and avoids the strange word syndrome.  Unfortunately the word, Cash, is rather too familiar to be useful.

On the runic note, its interesting to see the God Learner/HeroQuest 1 runes reappear.

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