Wísdat

Wísdat
Wísdat
An 1850s era Wísdat coin
Denominations
Plural	Wísdat
Symbol	₩
Demographics
Date of introduction	1855
User(s)	Caracua

The Wísdat was the primary currency of the Northern Confederation and its successor states. Throughout its existence, it took the form of coins.

The Northern Confederation and its people did not have a formal currency for the earliest part of its existence, and many of its constituent peoples operated on barter. The continued effects of globalization as well as increased trade with Varshan during the 19th century precipitated the need for a formal currency as the earliest of the Confederation's merchant class began to coalesce. The rise of constitutional government in the Confederation after 1847 empowered the National Conference to adopt a currency in 1855. The new wísdat was a nickel coin due to the availability of that metal in Cusinaut. The metal for the coinage was mined in the Algosh lands but minted primarily in Pachaug. The monetization of the economy was a gradual process that was largely complete by 1910. From the time of its adoption onwards, the wísdat would suffer extremely poor exchange rates vis a vis Occidental currencies and even the Zurgite Varshani ratzas, but the reform did dramatically improve the dynamism of the Confederation's economy for the rest of the century. The rates improved somewhat as currencies began to adopt a fiat basis briefly in the mid-20th century, but subsequently crashed as the Northern Confederation entered a period of terminal decline. After the Algosh coup, Algoquona continued to issue and use the traditional wísdat. After the collapse of that state and the reorganization of Cusinaut in the wake of the Final War of the Deluge, the taler replaced the wísdat in most places. However, Caracua continues to issue and use a currency called the wísdat, though with different form and different metal content than the original.