Eagle (currency)
Sarna News
- HEXTECH Review - Wave 3 Brings More Urban Options To Your Battlefield
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For March, 2024
- Crashing 'Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy
- Getting The Word Out With Rem Alternis, Catalyst Community & Marketing Director
- Bad 'Mechs - Yeoman
- Read more →
The Eagle or M-Bill is the House Bill of the Free Worlds League.
.jpg)
Contents
Overview
Originally there was no common currency for the Free Worlds League, with each province maintaining their own legal tender. With the dissolution of the Terran Alliance and subsequent devaluing of the Terran dollar, the value of these currencies was backed up by precious commodities, such as petroleum or rare earths. Eventually, after years of lengthy and heated debates, Parliament adopted its own legal tender in 2353, the M-Bill or "Eagle", backed by Germanium (in unrelated developments, Arcadia Mining Corporation had discovered a massive lode of germanium in the Irian system and pledged it to the federal government as part of a very lucrative deal).[1] Provinces still maintained the right to print their own currency though, and would continue to do so until 3040. These currencies were broadly interchangeable, albeit with occasional confusion and problems (especially between rival provinces).[2]
Given the strength of the FWL economy at the time, the adoption of germanium eventually caused the other major powers to do the same within a decade.[1] This use of commodity-based currency would have dire consequences in later centuries though. During the first of the Succession Wars, the federal government had to spend more money than it could possibly pay and was forced to use government script to pay for conscripting personnel and resources, which could be redeemed for germanium at a later date. After the war ended, the scripts became due, but the government had only a fraction of the germanium available to pay out, causing widespread unrest within the League.[3]
For much of it's history the M-Bill was only available in electronic format, managed by the Free Worlds Central Bank headquartered on Atreus. The disruption caused by the Succession Wars eventually forced the Central Bank to begin printing hard currency, using a tamper-proof polymer vellum with images printed on them via induction-field electrophoresis.[3][2] Six mints were eventually established, on Atreus, Marik, Regulus, Oriente, Andurien and Concord, as well as coin-based currency.[2] In 3025, one M-Bill was roughly equivalent to $3.50 USD (1988) and 0.70 C-Bills.[3] By September 3067, the growth of the FWL economy had improved it's exchange rate with the C-Bill to 0.95.[4]
During the Dark Age, the exchange rate with the C-Bill was of 0.52 prior to the Blackout and 1.39 after the blackout, and after the separation of the Free Worlds League, only the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth using the Eagle.[5]
Current mints within the Free Worlds League
Andurien Mint
Atreus Mint
Concord Mint
Oriente Mint
Regulus Mint
Free Worlds League Coins
Free Worlds League Currency Coins
