Mercenary Bank

Logo of the Mercenary Bank

The Mercenary Bank stands as a formidable supranational financial institution that plays a pivotal role in the global economic landscape. Established through a collaborative effort among powerful nations and influential entities, the Mercenary Bank has emerged as the primary internationally recognised bank, wielding significant influence over the world's financial systems.

History

After the Treaty of the King's Keep was signed in the early Third Era, trade issues arose. Wheras before the Great Grief people generally traded with goods, such as gold bars, now a more formal currency was being issued. In the Kythiran Empire, the Green Dragon Emerald saw some adaptation, whilst in the newly founded Imperius Reich, the Reichsmark was issued. Meanwhile, in the newly added territory of Ardoragh, people used the locally minted Roters as their preferred currency.

In order to solve this, members of House Viromaro, House Von Dragestein and several important business tycoons united by the Redstonian König family, came together to form a single, universally accepted currency, and a bank that would be able to issue and regulate it. Thus, the Mercenary Bank was born.

Its headquarters has always been in the city of Helmira, in the old Sverdpalass, the former royal palace of the Kings of Helmsdeep. Since its founding the Mercenary Bank, named after King Mercenary Hurdræber, has always been led by members of the prestigious and unscrupulous König family.

It's logo is a golden circle on a white mountain, the gold representing their immense value, and the white mountain representing the location of their headquarters, high atop the white marble stairs of Helmira.

The Florynt (ƒ) and its value

The Florynt (ƒ) is the globally recognised currency in Minecraftia. It is printed exclusively by the Mercenary Bank, and most of the world's Florynts are stored safe within the Bank's secret vault, hidden somewhere in Minecraftia. In order to prevent inflation, only a finite amount of Florynts were ever pressed, exactly 7 billion.

In general, 1 Florynt is enough to buy a loaf of bread, with 5 Florynts generally being able to pay for a night in most inns. 12,500 Florynts is enough to buy an average middle class single family homes in a modest city. The average annual income of a working middle class family is 17,500 Florynts before taxes. Meanwhile, an upper middle class townhouse in a city like Helmira would cost around 95,000 Florynts. Palaces or castles are much more expensive. For instance, Radenór Castle, the summer residence for the Kings of Ardoragh, was estimated to have cost around 2,2 million Florynts to construct. House Viromaro paid around 4 million Florynts for their hunting lodge in western Ardoragh. As another example, the Mediori Fleet, with her 62 ships, cost the Kythiran crown around 18 million Florynts to construct, at around 290,000 Florynts per ship, not including the docks.

The White Gold Tower, although priceless due to its historical value, cost around 158 million Florynts to erect, and is the most expensive building ever constructed in Minecraftia. The Kythiran Invasion of Imperius, although relatively brief, still devastated the Kythiran economy, costing the crown upwards of 840 million Florynts, plunging the Empire into economic turmoil which ultimately resulted in the Reforma Carta, which effectively ended the absolute monarchy, reforming it into a constitutional one.

Bank Statements

Reserves of the Mercenary Bank:

Total: ƒ1,588,252,000

Kythiran Empire

Noble Families, Wealthy elites: ƒ347,390,000

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ489,000,000

Kythiran Crown: ƒ176,000,000

Imperial Treasury: ƒ980,000,000

Kingdom of Ardoragh Treasury: ƒ326,000,000

Kingdom of Alcanzar Treasury: ƒ290,000,000

Kingdom of Attica Treasury: ƒ319,000,000

Kingdom of the Heartlands Treasury: ƒ126,000,000

Kingdom of Camuria Treasury: ƒ23,000,000

Kingdom of Redstonia Treasury: ƒ36,000,000

TOTAL: ƒ3,112,390,000

Raggisar Republic

Wealthy elites: ƒ170,390,000

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ348,000,000

Republican Government: ƒ93,760,000

Federal Reserves: ƒ1,730,000,000

TOTAL: ƒ2,342,150,000

The Aqumis Republic

Wealthy elites: ƒ43,562,000

Other individual bank accounts: ƒ6,570,000

Republican Government: ƒ1,776,000

Reserves: ƒ5,300,000

TOTAL: ƒ57,208,000

META

For the ease of everybody involved, and to ensure a sense of realism, 5 Florynts, the price of a stay at a simple inn, would be around 160 euros in 2023, the price of a decent hotel room for a night. Most of the calculations above have been based off of this standard.