Quote:
Originally Posted by Morthoron
I have heard dragons worked for union scale.
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Oh, Morth...
For myself, I always figured that there was some kind of "currency" among all the different races of ME, not a unified system, but one that worked among themselves and those with which they did any kind of trade. That Tolkien gave no details of these systems is no surprise to me, since he had an obvious emphasis on culture rather than commerce. But there is plenty of evidence that such systems existed, in the mentions of things like coins, payment, etc. I can't see Sauron feeling any need to have a currency of his own; he didn't pay his slaves, and for things like the bribes offered to Maggot, he probably had caches (no doubt stolen) of the various things needed to do business in the regions where he wanted to "do business."
In Aman, since the three groups of Elves have realms with kings, they probably have established some way of doing trade among themselves based on whatever means they might have established prior to the Great Journey. Aman may be the Blessed Realm, but it is not a perfect paradise, nor are the Elves themselves a perfect people. But that's my personal take on things.