This is interesting! I only have a WIP right now and I haven’t really thought about the economy yet, but here we go:
So first of all, the setting is important. The story takes place in a union of 6 countries called the Alliance of Thendia, which is similar to the European Union. All participating countries therefore share a currency called the Thendian Amaru, which is worth slightly more than one dollar. However, each country also has its own currency, that is mostly used in more rural areas. Prices in each country also vary.
Then, there is the problem of Big Macs, because there aren’t really any Big Macs or fast food chains in this world. So I’ll just use the fast food item that comes closest to a Big Mac, which is the giant Flamecrisp Dumpling from Hellalunia. There, it costs about 3 to 4 Thendian Amaru (depending on where you are) or 7 Sparks (Hellalunian currency).
Then again, prices tend to vary extremely. In Kheltra, for example, you could get a Flamecrisp Dumpling for whooping 18 Thendian Amaru (about 20 dollars) or “2 half moons and a waning moon” because the coins there have moon phases on them. In Khozt on the other hand, a Flamecrisp Dumpling would cost only half an Amaru or 16 Timetinkles, but you wouldn’t really have a way to find out what’s really in this dumpling, making it at least as sketchy as an actual Big Mac, if not worse.
Another weird thing is that in some areas, anything can be used as currency. In Mirdan, the seaside villages often use seashells. In Lambunia, remote villages sometimes use flower petals preserved by magic. Some areas even use blood as currency (though this happens mostly in communities with a high Hidden Red rate and is generally looked down upon).
And of course there is magic so you could theoretically produce your own currency, but this is highly illegal (however, in some areas, people just don’t care).
