You wouldn't, and neither would I, but neither of us is Maggot. What use would he see in a bar of gold? It's like the Gaffer said, "cabbages and potatoes are better". They're both more down-to-earth-
ish, and perhaps more realistic when it comes to the
true value of things, not the value that others give them. What could you do with gold? It's an equivalent of money, but what else? Jewelry's nice, I suppose, but its not something that we really need that much. Yes, I said that gold=money, but only because people gave it this value. In reality, it is not as useful as other metals. Maggot is the kind of person that can see beyond the yellow shiny stuff. What would he do with that bar of gold? Fertilize his mushrooms with it?
He could use a few coins, though, since they are a convinient way to trade, as you said. He could get some real fertilizer with those!
Gold bars aren't very convenient to trade with, unless you want a dozen wagons of manure at once...
When Legolas and Gimli talk about the caves of Aglarond, they say something about giving gold. Do you think that they meant oney or golden bars or either? Or simply the
value of gold in any material/way of payment?
PS: if Maggot would not accept gold in return for information about his..."friend", he probably wouldn't have accepted
anything, so I don't blae Khamul for not bribing properly.
