This coin hails from the days before Aegon’s Conquest, over three hundred years before the times of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon. In that time the Lannisters of Casterly Rock had their own kings. The Lannisters had been King of the Rock ever since Lann the Clever had deftly maneuvered the Casterlys out of their mines. The power of the Rock had always been the material wealth of the mines, chiefly silver and gold. While other houses minted small silver stags as coinage, the Lannisters ostentatiously minted the much larger silver moons, with seven times the weight and value of a stag! The common saying that “A Lannister always pays his debts.” dates from this time. This comes from the reign of King Tommen II Lannister. Little is known about this king aside from his coinage, as he was lost at sea with his famous Valyrian-steel sword “Brightroar” on an ill-fated voyage of conquest, leaving an ineffectual son and divided council.

In the world created by George R.R. Martin, it takes seven stags to equal one moon, and thirty moons to make one gold dragon.

Broadstruck in pure .999 fine silver, weighing ~22 grams, diameter of 1.5″, or about 38mm. The obverse features a Lion Rampant, with the text TOMMEN II LANNISTER across the top and the official family motto: HEAR ME ROAR at bottom. The reverse side shows a view of Casterly Rock and the sea, with a crescent moon above, with the text CASTERLY ROCK at upper left and ONE MOON at lower right.

After the tragic loss of Tommen II Lannister, his son Tommen III was king for a time. The most important thing he did as king was to authorize the issue of a few more silver moon coins. The design for the Tommen III moon was copied in somewhat coarser fashion from the coins of his father. The scenes on obverse and reverse are the same, but the level of detail is less. Dies for the Tommen III piece were destroyed after just 70 strikes, so it is considered by some as a rarity, even though it lacks some of the beauty of the Tommen II piece..

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This copper “star” piece is from the Iron Islands in the mythical realm of Westeros shortly after the death of King Robert Baratheon, some 300 years after Aegons Conquest united the warring kingdoms. This particular piece is struck in ~9 grammes of pure copper (.999 fine), about 25mm in diameter, done in a revolutionary style with incuse lettering and a finely engraved profile portrait of Balon Greyjoy as he declares lordship in open defiance of King Joffrey Baratheon. The obverse portrait features the bearded Balon with laurel wreath and wearing a gorget emblazoned with the Kraken, sigil of house Greyjoy. The reverse depicts a Reaver, the attack ship of the iron-born, with the motto WE DO NOT SOW which clearly shows a disdain for farming folk. The steel dies used to make this piece were designed and engraved by Joe Paonessa. Above the reaver is a seven pointed star with the numeral “1″, graphically declaring the denomination of “one star”. The star is equivalent to eight pennies. Seven stars would equal one silver stag. A star would be enough money to purchase a small mug of beverage or light meal at an inexpensive establishment.

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This small silver “stag” piece is from the mythical realm of Westeros shortly after the unification of that land by the event known historically as Aegons Conquest. This particular piece is struck in appx. 3.2 grammes of pure silver (.999 fine), about 21mm in diameter, done in the “high art” style with fine engraving and a stylized portrait of King Aegon, flanked by his two sisters (and wives) Rhaenys and Visenya. The steel dies used to make this piece were done by the late Greg Franck-Weiby, an expert numismatist and die engraver. It was Greg’s idea to create the tryptich of the three heads, with the hair flowing to become both the tresses of the king and both queens. The king wears a crown with three dragons heads on it. The saying that “The dragon has three heads” refers to the fact that the three siblings ruled almost as one, leading forces separately but each with full authority.

The reverse of this piece shows a classic stag done in the Scythian style, and symbolizes the denomination of the coin… one “stag”.  By the time the stories in the novels take place, Aegon’s conquest is an event of history by some three hundred years. Still, the coin was made in such proliferation in its day that examples are not at all  difficult to find, even after so long a time.

This heavy copper is from Westeros, the scene of the mythological events taking place in the series of novels by author George R.R. Martin and features the left facing profile of King Robert Baratheon early in his reign. In fact, some think that they may have been struck even before Robert sought the throne. Scholars of that bent note that he wears no crown!  It is undated (as are most ancient coins) but is thought to have been struck at the Oldtown mint sometime before the 297th year after Aegon’s conquest united the seven kingdoms of Westeros. It weighs about 9 grams of pure copper, about the price of a bite and a cuppa if you’re not too picky about how clean the utensils are.

The seven pointed star on reverse symbolized both the seven kingdoms, and the seven principles of the Sept… the predominant religion of Westeros in those days. In addition, it takes seven of these stars to equal one silver stag. This fantasy coinage is officially licensed through George R.R. Martin. This is actually the very first Westeros coin I made for George. The earliest examples were made back in 2003. We had a full-age ad in issue #3 of THE HEDGE KNIGHT comic book which featured this coin!

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This silver token is from an establishment called The Peach in Stoney Sept Westeros, the scene of the mythological events taking place in the series of novels by author George R.R. Martin.

Establishments of this sort were frequented by the short-statured Tyrion Lannister, a major character in the novels, and in light of this such brothel tokens are sometimes referred to as a “Dwarf’s Penny” by the uncultured seeking to make jest at the expense of the Lannisters. It is thought to have been struck by private arrangement at the Oldtown mint (the details of which we can only imagine as they do not appear on the mint ledgers) around the 300th year after Aegons conquest united the seven kingdoms of Westeros.

The peach fruit depicted on obverse is intended to symbolize… well… something erotically suggestive.  This particular piece is struck in appx. 3.2 grammes of pure silver (.999 fine), about 21mm in diameter. The reverse side is inscribed simply “ONE”.  In use, these tokens were purchased at the going rate from the management of the establishment to gain admittance, and then tendered to the courtesan of choice, who then turned them back in to the mangement as proof of services rendered. They seldom circulated outside the establishment except in cases where a friend would purchase one as a gift. They were particularly popular for some time as a gift for young men on their sixteenth name day. Few indeed can resist the temptation to spend THAT dwarf penny, and so for this reason they are considered rather rare outside the walls of THE PEACH.

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This unusual piece is an example of “wire coinage”… that is… coins which are struck with primitive tools along a length of heavy wire, and worn as armbands or bracelets, but may also be cut apart as needed for use as currency.

The copper “puli” are the smallest denomination coins. (Puli is the plural of pul) They are almost always left in full strings of twelve or cut into pairs. Singles are seldom seen.

They are also issued in silver, which are called Dengi (Dengi is the plural of Denga). They were made for the Khalasar of Khal Drogo as appeasement and used by him and his clan as adornment.

Khal Drogo is of course the leader of the Khalasar when we meet him in George R.R. Martin’s books. The Khalasar is a horde of fierce nomadic tribesmen. The design of these coins is actually modeled closely on old Russian real-world wire denga  and shows a marauding horseman on one side, with text on the other. The difference is that those old ones were almost always cut apart, and we are leaving ours together as much as possible.

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This silver piece is of the size and weight that is known as a “Stag”. It dates from some three hundred years before  Aegon’s conquest, when Westeros consisted of seven independant kingdoms.

The last ruler of the independant North Kingdom was Torrhen Stark, whose castle at Winterfell features heavily in the book A Game of Thrones.

This piece weighs about 3.2 grams (1/10 troy ounce, 2 dwt) of pure .999 fine silver, and is about 19mm in diameter. The dies are done in a primitivistic style reminiscent of the medieval coinage of the real-world William I period. The obverse features a facing portrait of the crowned king bearing war-hammers, with the inscription TORRHEN STARK around, and the reverse features the face of a Dire Wolf, and the inscription WINTERFELL.

This “stag” would have been a significant bit of currency in its day, enough to buy a good meal for  four people at a decent place. It takes seven of these to equal the much larger silver “moon” and 210 stags to make a gold dragon.

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This silver “Stag” dates from the reign of Aerys II, the “Mad-King” and last of the Targaryen rulers of Westeros. The reverse side of the coin features a simple stag, graphically representing the denomination, and the mintmark “OT” for Old Town. On obverse Aerys is shown holding a boar-speak and pot of “wildfire”.  He was widely known for the nasty habit of burning his enemies alive in court.

His armies were defeated in battle by Robert Baratheon in AC 283  (the 283rd year after Aegon’s Conquest united the isle of Westeros which had before consisted of seven independant kingdoms) and Aerys himself was assassinated by Jaime Lannister, chief of his own Kingsguard, who becomes a major character in the story.

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This silver “Stag” dates from shortly after the death of Robert Baratheon. Balon Greyjoy declares himself Lord of the Iron Islands and ostentatiously does so by quickly issuing coins showing himself wearing a crown, openly defying the rule of King Joffrey Baratheon (whom we know to be the cuckold of Robert by Jaime Lannister).

The obverse depicts the standing Balon with axe in one hand and an immense pearl signifying the power of the sea. The reverse of the coin features the Kraken, the great sea monster capable of dragging ships down into the depths, sigil of House Greyjoy.The denomination of one “stag” is not written but assumed (common with ancient coins) the date is also unwritten, but since the death of Robert occurred in AC298 it would be apparent to all, and the mintmark shows that is was made at Pyke.

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“The fact that someone has made a version of this coin makes me nerd flail.” - NerdApproved.com

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 The sixth pressing is now available.

   The design of the mysterious iron coin of the Faceless Man is based upon a story-fragment from the mythical world of A Song of Ice and Fire. The iron coin of the Faceless Man plays an important role in the story! Arya Stark receives this coin in the course of her adventures and initially discounts it as valueless. As it happens, this is not a “coin” in the usual sense at all, but a recognition token for members of the Faceless Man organization, a secretive mafia-like guild of assassins trained to alter their faces at will by both rigorous training and a form of magic. In the story… if someone gives you this coin and says the words: “Valar Morghulis”, (trans: “All Men Must Die”) then you have got to say the proper response: “Valar Dohaeris” (trans: “All Men Must Serve”) in order to save your life. Arya eventually comes to understand the significance of the coin, along with us, as the story progresses.

In real life many fans of George’s novels are using these as “challenge” coins during gatherings or “cons”. That is… you show your coin and say the words, and if the other person can’t show their coin in response then they “must serve”… as in… go fetch the next round of drinks! All in good fun!

This coin has been struck in metallurgical grade Pure Iron (not steel!) on dies hand-engraved by the late Greg Franck-Weiby, and comes with a blackened and pastewaxed finish. They weigh about 5.6 grams and are about 26mm in diameter. Interestingly, they have a bright “ring” sound when flipped in the air, unusual for an iron coin which tend to sound dull. The obverse design for the coin was debated for over two years with many sketches before Greg finally set graver to steel in 2010. The description of the coin in the text was explicit in that a man’s face was portrayed, but was indistinct. Arya at first assumes the coin to be very worn, but later realizes that such is not the case and that in reality the portrait itself is very indistinct. Since profile portraits (commonplace on real-world coins) are always distinct no matter what the state of wear, Greg argued that the portrait MUST of necessity be a facing one in order to fulfill the description of being both unworn yet indistinct. So a shadowy face resides under a deep cowl. It is a testament to Greg’s skill that the face can seem to change as it is turned in the light… just as the faces of the Faceless Men themselves may change at will. The size of the coin was also carefully chosen because in the story Arya is given the coin by a man in chains awaiting execution. We can assume that he’s been thoroughly searched, and yet he has managed to keep this coin, somehow. Therefore without going into too many details… it can only be so big!

Inscriptions on reverse show an enciphered VDVM symbol in the center, with lettering around the rim spelling out VALAR MORGHULIS, VALAR DOHAERIS. Some earlier versions of this coin used an archaic spelling with the silent “H” dropped from “MORGHULIS”.  Since those coins hail from the years before there were any dictionaries in the land, it is not unusual to see variations in spelling on older coins. Starting with the sixth pressing, the more modern spelling is used.

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