Currency in Aman and Arda?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Indeed, I'm with G55 and Puddleglum about this one - Khamul's words really sound like the basic way in which the villains of old in 19th-century books offer a bribe. The point is that Khamul is not saying "I will give you 500 gold pieces if you tell me about Baggins", but he is simply saying "gold", leaving it open for Maggot to say the actual price. It is like "here, I am giving you an offer, and you can see for yourself how generous I am". Of course, Khamul's only mistake was indeed that he bumped into a rather incorruptible person, and the whole race, for that matter...

On the other hand, I agree with Inzil about the Mordor part - I don't think that Sauron would have any reason to use currency "inside" Mordor, and no reason to make his own coins. Nobody will buy anything from anybody inside Mordor, you either have slaves, or you are a boss, but you get everything you ought for your work by the system which divides stuff among people according to Sauron's, and only his, plans. It's a classic centrally controlled society, if you can even call it a society in the proper sense.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

On the other hand, I agree with Inzil about the Mordor part - I don't think that Sauron would have any reason to use currency "inside" Mordor, and no reason to make his own coins. Nobody will buy anything from anybody inside Mordor, you either have slaves, or you are a boss, but you get everything you ought for your work by the system which divides stuff among people according to Sauron's, and only his, plans. It's a classic centrally controlled society, if you can even call it a society in the proper sense.

I have heard dragons worked for union scale.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

I have heard dragons worked for union scale.

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.