What is the currency in Altcastle?

Question from Freddie H. Buffalo, NY.

"Hi, Dr Corvus. I was wondering who issues the currency in Altcastle. I know you've used the old English (I guess British, right?) money system of Pounds, Shillings and Pence instead of the modern decimal system, which makes sense as everything is stuck in 1890, but my question is: who is the issuer? Is there something like a central bank for all of Altland or does the Countess issue the money? I guess it's kind of a geeky question, but I'm an historian of banking so this kind of stuff interests me."

Hi Freddie,

No problem - it's an interesting question. I will address this issue in book 2 or maybe book 3 in more detail, because it ties in with why the Countess was so mean to Mr Punch (see Chapter 23) and the money owed by the Borough. But, as you've asked, I'll let you in on the answer now: there is a Bank of Altland, just like the Bank of England, but the money supply is not fiat... I won't say too much more now as some details still need working on, but basically each Borough holds amount of Gold Sovereigns as backing for the Altland money, hence the contents of the ransom letter in Chapter 24.

I hope that answers your question. A big thank you from me for taking so much interest in the book!

Best Wishes

Anton