The currency in the Fallout world varies from area to area and even faction to faction.
Pre-War money
Bottle caps
Durable, portable, and instantly recognizable, bottle caps (predominantly from Nuka-Cola) rapidly became one of the most common currencies accepted by traders in post-War North America,[1] in line with speculation by Doctor Mobius about the role they might play in post-War economies.[2] The earliest known adoption of bottle caps as currency took place in New California: Within ten years of Hub's founding in 2093,[Non-game 1] caps became the standard currency of the wasteland.[Non-game 2] The widespread use by Hub merchants leading to the nickname Hub bucks,[3] Hubbucks,[4] bucks,[5] Hub script,[6] or just script.[7]
The Hub merchants selected bottle caps because of two factors: First, the technology to manufacture them and paint their surfaces had been mostly lost in the Great War, which limited any counterfeiting efforts: The paint used, machining, and metal type all have to be very specific in order for a bottle cap to be genuine.[8] Second, there is a limited number of bottle caps, which preserves their value against inflation to some degree.[9] Finally, the Hub merchants in New California could support it as a common unit of exchange by backing it with water.[10]
For similar reasons the East Coast merchants also recognized bottle caps as a currency. However, their earliest recorded use by survivors in Appalachia in 2096, appears to be an unintended result of a cross-promotional campaign: The Nuka-Cola Corporation partnered with the Whitespring Resort to promote the newly released Nuka-Cola Quantum. As part of the event, all Whitespring robots were programmed to accept bottlecaps as currency, allowing visitors to enjoy numerous deals.[11][12]
While caps were the de facto standard currency in the West, the rise of the New California Republic (NCR) led to the widespread adoption of dollars, backed by gold reserves, which displaced the water-backed caps.[13] However, during the Brotherhood War the Republic's gold reserves out in the frontier were destroyed by Brotherhood raids to the point where the NCR was forced to stop minting new gold coins so as to put an end to the raids completely. An act that indirectly resulted in Republic paper money no longer being properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. In order to contain the financial fallout that would be caused by the inevitable inflation to come, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie. Since then many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation. In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub established their own currency, the venerable bottle cap, backing it with water (exchanging a standardized measure of water for caps).[Non-game 3][Non-game 4][Non-game 5][Non-game 6]
It was not a random occurrence: The merchants conspired to reintroduce the bottle cap as a currency, out of frustration at NCR's ineptitude in handling the currency crisis. Furthermore, since Hub bridges the NCR core region with the Mojave and lands beyond, the cap could bridge the gap between NCR and Legion territories by providing a neutral form of money. In the time leading up to the introduction the merchants laid the foundations for bottle caps as a currency, establishing control of or destroying facilities that could fashion new bottle caps and seizing excessively large caches of old bottle caps (smaller ones in private hands were left alone, as their owners would readily embrace the returning bottle cap).[Non-game 6]
To protect their monopoly on the currency, Republic merchant companies, particularly the Crimson Caravan Company, aggressively sought to control all bottle cap production and ensure that no one can mass produce them and inflate the currency. Controlling bottle cap presses also allows them to replace worn out and damaged bottle caps, keeping the pool of currency stable. Due to the challenges of the bottle cap production process, small scale counterfeiting is ignored, as it's impossible to manufacture enough caps by hand to truly upset the balance.[14][8][9]
Bottle caps, NCR dollars and Legion currency are all considered legal tender by the various caravan companies and on the New Vegas Strip. Mojave merchants also accept nonstandard variants, such as Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps.
NCR dollars
The NCR introduced its own money around the start of the 23rd century, initially relying on coins minted from gold. By 2241, the economy of NCR dominated the West Coast and coins became universal currency, used by the three regional powers: NCR, Vault City and New Reno. During this time bottle caps had become worthless in these regions.[15][Non-game 7][Non-game 8]
During the conflict with the Brotherhood, the NCR's gold reserves out in the frontier were raided by the Brotherhood to the point where the NCR was forced to stop minting new gold coins so as to put an end to the raids completely, indirectly resulting in NCR paper money no longer being properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. In order to contain the financial fallout from the inevitable inflation to come, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie.[16][Non-game 8] Since then, many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation.[Non-game 4] In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub re-established their own currency, the venerable bottle cap, backing it with water (exchanging a standardized measure of water for caps).[Non-game 5][Non-game 6]
By 2281, the NCR dollar is valued at about 40% of a water-backed cap[17] and only 10% of a silver Legion Denarius. In the Mojave Wasteland, these notes can be seen in the $5, $20 and $100 denominations. The notes are issued by the Republic Reserve Bank located in Angel's Boneyard. In 2281, the current Treasurer of the Republic and head of the NCR Treasury is John Michael Henderson, whose signature can be found on the front face of all NCR notes found in the Mojave Wasteland.[18]
Mine scrips
The town of Redding uses Morningstar mine scrips and Kokoweef mine scrips as secondary currency, supplementing NCR dollars.
Legion money
Caesar's Legion uses two forms of currency, named for coins used by the Roman Empire. They are minted by the Legion from scavenged silver and gold, with each coin bearing the profile of Caesar.[Non-game 9]
Despite Caesar's poor relations with the other factions in New Vegas, Legion currency is still accepted as payment in the Mojave Wasteland, owing to the rare precious metals that they consist of.[Non-game 10] The exchange rate is 4 bottle caps to 1 denarius, and 100 bottle caps to 1 aureus.
The denarius (silver), which bears an image of a younger Caesar on the obverse and Caesar, Joshua Graham and Bill Calhoun on the reverse. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Caesar Dictator" meaning "Dictator Caesar" or "Absolute Ruler Caesar" on the front and "Magnum Chasma" meaning "Great Abyss" or "Great Fissure" on the back, referring to the Grand Canyon. The symbolism is simple - the denarius commemorates young Caesar's journey to the Canyon and his first victories as a dictator of the Grand Canyon tribes.
The aureus (gold), which bears the portrait of the older Caesar on one side and the symbol of the wider Legion, the bull, on the other. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Aeternit Imperi" meaning "For the eternity of the empire" on the front and "Pax Per Bellum" meaning "Peace through War" on the back.
Legendary scrip
Legendary scrip is found only in Appalachia and is obtained by trading legendary items to legendary exchange machines. They are only accepted as legal tender by Purveyor Murmrgh who will trade mystery legendary weapons and armor in exchange.
Brotherhood scrips
 | The following is based on information from Fallout Tactics. |
|---|
Brotherhood scrip is a currency used only by the Brotherhood of Steel for trade within the Brotherhood. Brotherhood traders accept only this currency with the exception of some outsider traders that are present in most bases and accept ring pulls.
Ring pulls
| The following is based on information from Fallout Tactics. |
|---|
Ring pulls are used as currency by people in the area of Chicago. They are tabs from soda cans. Ring pulls can be found all over the settlements in early missions and traders will accept them. There are usually some outsider traders in Brotherhood bases who will accept ring pulls as well.
References
- ↑ Fallout 76 loading screens: "Durable, easy to carry, and quickly recognizable, the Nuka-Cola bottle cap is one of the most common currencies used by traders in post-war America."
- ↑ Borous: "*{Quiet, trying not to embarrass himself}What? Like... stuff? Things?*"
Klein: "YES. THINGS.
Borous: "*{Quiet, skeptical}I don't know... might be some old Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla bottlecaps lying around. It... It's not "currency" per se... Still, might be enough to trick the Sink's trade routines. Mobius put that test line for caps in the code as a debug command, I think.*"
Dala: "I don't believe that was Mobius' reason. His wild speculation concerning post-holocaust economic systems was quite extensive. And of high decibel."
Klein: "ENOUGH! SURRENDER THESE SO-CALLED BOTTLECAPS, NUKA AND SUNSET ALIKE. IN THEIR ROLE AS THINGS, THEY WILL SERVE AS ADEQUATE TEST SUBJECTS." - ↑ Demetre Romara: "{118}{}{We pay 600 hub bucks a job! That's each way! Hell, people say we take all the dangerous routes but I say they're the most excitin'! You need a little excitement in your life, am I right? Of course I am!}"
(Demetre Romara's dialogue) - ↑ Caravan driver: "{106}{}{You'll get 400 hubbucks. You might be sayin' that it ain't that much, but we go out often and you ain't gonna lose your life that easy. But you get that pay going each way, not that you have to go each way, but you'll get a total of 800 if you do. }"
(Caravan drivers' dialogue) - ↑ Jasmine: "{118}{}{Well done, lad. Here's your reward. [Jasmine gives you 3000 bucks]}"
(Jasmine's dialogue) - ↑ Aradesh: "{238}{Ara_41}{Of course, I will reward you. Bring her and you will receive 500 in Hub Script. Will you help me?}"
(Aradesh's dialogue) - ↑ Referred to as such by Lorri, Justin Greene, Decker, Keri Lee, Hub cops, caravan drivers and guards in Fallout.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Courier: "What makes a bottle cap genuine?"
Alice McLafferty: "Lots of little things - the paint on the label, the machining, the type of metal it's made from. I know there's counterfeit caps floating around, of course. Fortunately, they're very time-consuming to make, so the numbers are small."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pressing Matters
- ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{134}{}{Tell me more about bartering.}"
Katrina: "{139}{}{Bartering is the exchange of goods. You give me some items, and I give you items in trade. Since you initiated the barter, I will let you pick and choose what you want. But the deal must be one that I think I will like, so you will probably want to give me more valuable goods that you don't need in exchange for less expensive things that you want. And if you don't have enough items to trade, there are always caps. Bottle caps are the only common money found out here. The caps are backed by the merchants of the Hub, so you can trade them anywhere.}"
(Katrina's dialogue) - ↑ The Whitespring Resort terminal entries; Candy Shoppe Office terminal, Staff Bulletin, October 2077
- ↑ Whitespring concierge: "To celebrate the release of Nuka-Cola Quantum, The Whitespring has partnered with the Nuka-Cola Corporation to accept bottlecaps at all of our shops. For a limited time, you can take advantage of some truly amazing deals if you have the caps."
(Whitespring concierge's dialogue) - ↑ Appearance and gameplay mechanics in Fallout 2.
- ↑ The Courier: "Are new bottle caps ever made?"
Alice McLafferty: "Certainly. Bottle caps do wear out or get damaged. Some people even insist on using bottle caps in explosive devices for some reason. We make it a point to scour Pre-War bottling plants and recover or disable the bottle cap presses. It seems we missed one."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ Vault City travel log: "The territories of NCR are located far to the south of Vault City. Trades mechanical equipment, gold, and various surplus products in exchange for Vault City medical technology. "
Note: Only the NCR trades in gold; other cities - Redding and New Reno - trade in gold ore, indicating NCR processing. - ↑ All paper bills state "Not Payable in Specie"
- ↑ The Courier: "You don't get paid in caps?"
Chomps Lewis: "Nope. The NCR's been trying to switch over to using paper money, like in the Pre-War days. Trouble is that the exchange rates ain't exactly fair. For example, a hundred bucks in NCR money is valued at roughly half that in caps around here. Seems like a rotten deal for us, but work is work."
(Chomps Lewis' dialogue) - ↑ Appearance of NCR dollar bills.
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