The Sage of Einar

Chapter 168: The slow change of the monetary system

Einar, who was standing in front of one of the wooden presses, looked with some joy as just by pressing it. He left some drawings on a linen blanket that could not be erased because they had been impregnated with ink.

All of them had the symbol of ‘1’ written on the sides and at the bottom, it said ‘Smaragd’ referring to the coin that Einar had invented.

This is due to the fact that ‘Smaragd’ was the word for a gem in Norwegian and since the currency at the beginning would be backed by gems and diamonds, he considers it the correct name.

While in the middle, they had a bear resting on a small island that was shaped like Iceland.

At the top it had the words ‘Land av is, Bjorn og veien til den nye verden’ , while at the bottom it had a text in Latin.

‘Pax est iustum, Est officium bellum ‘

When he finished printing the front of the bill, Einar took the linen blanket and hung it on a special clothesline to dry.

Later he took one of the linen blankets that were already dry and placed it on another press, leaving the back of the blanket uncovered.

After this, he took the handle of the press and pressed it so that the press could mark the back of the bill.

The back part, unlike the front part, had in the middle the drawing of a tree which had on the sides a seal that had the shape of a Nordic compass.

Another difference with the front was that it had two small texts. The first had a text that said ‘Central Bank Of The Imperial Family’

The second was a code that said 830 S003, this refers to the year in which the ‘Series’ of the note was already created.

It only had 3 spaces to place the series of banknotes, which were put to expand even more, but it did not make sense because unlike modern currency.

Which has no sustenance and does not support its value. The ‘Smaragd’ was backed by emeralds and diamonds.

So unless Einar wanted to create a devaluation of his currency, he would not print more than he can support, in that way he would avoid future problems such as rebellions or that people lose confidence in the central bank that has just ended to create.

The bank he was talking about was one of his creations with which he planned to have complete control of the currency, to avoid problems in the future and safeguard power for his family in the future.

After he finished printing on the back of the bills, he hung the printed blanket back on the clothesline so that the paint could be peeled off.

‘Very well, the third blanket is already hanging. Now I only needed to screen print the second blanket to be able to color the banknotes.

I am almost certain that if any of these banknotes manages to survive the passage of time in some future, it could be worth millions because they would be the first banknotes made by the founder of the empire.

I think I’ll save some so my children and grandchildren can have them framed in resin for posterity. ‘

After this Einar took the blanket from the clothesline that was already dry and with the two sides of the banknotes printed on it and carried it to a wooden plank where there was a wooden plate with a cutout similar to that of the banknotes.

But that it was painted blue. After this he arranged the blanket and placed the wooden plate on it, later using small wooden clips, he fixed the plate and the blanket on the wooden plate so that they did not move.

After this, he took a small jar of blue and empty ink a little on the wooden plate, to later use a stick to move the paint through the wooden plate, making in this way all the colorable parts of the banknote to be painted blue.

When he finished painting, he removed the clamps from the wooden plate and removed the plate that was painted blue to place another plate that was painted yellow.

‘A little yellow with blue will make a beautiful green color, even if it’s a little silkscreen.

I think it is a very interesting way to color the banknotes without mentioning that being a method that only I know it is very unlikely that they can forge them. ‘

After finishing repeating the process again, this time with yellow ink, he removes the wooden plate revealing a beautiful linen blanket that had a green color characteristic of money.

Einar proudly lifted the blanket and cherished it for a moment before hanging it back on the clothesline so the paint could finish drying.

Because he couldn’t paint the opposite side green until the paint on the front had finished drying.

‘Although I have to admit that I hate using flax, I would love to use cotton instead, it is only a matter of time before I can get cotton from the Americas.

But it will have to wait a bit because first I have to completely dominate Iceland, as I also have to impose this monetary system.

I have already created the banknote but now it is necessary for people to have the confidence to use it, it should be a meeting of the Thing to be able to validate the bank and the banknotes.

Created an exchange rate of a banknote a gold coin is a fair deal internally, it would not be a very good idea to use it in foreign merchants until I know the value of the diamond and the emeralds.

Although it may be necessary to teach Helmi, Kassia, and my mother how to make paper money since I just don’t think I can make more bills.

But for my fortune, changing the use of gold and silver coins will be something progressive that will take a few months. Perhaps by the end of the year, everyone will be using Smaragd bills and silver coins for business.

Since there is no point in changing the use of silver or currency, we have not discovered any large silver mines on the island to make our own coins. ‘

Einar then massaged his temples’ I find a solution to a problem and three others appear. The only good thing is that this is an intermediate age between the end of the dark ages and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

So there are many solutions to the problem of the Christian church and its delusions of power to be able to put and remove kings under the pretext of divinity.

One only has to read ancient and renaissance books to realize how cruel the church was formed around the image of a man who did what he could to carry his word.

It is a real sadness, but it is the same thing that happened in Buddhism with the monks, although perhaps with the difference that Taoism and Hinduism put a stop to it … ‘

Einar interrupted his thoughts when the bedroom door opened and he could see Helmi, who had a beautiful linen apron enter.

“Einar, Natukt is looking for you and his group of warriors seems to want to talk to you about something important.”

Einar gave his wife a smile to walk towards her to face where he was once he was close to Helmi he used his finger to remove a lock of white hair that covered her face.

Taking his time he lowered his head and gave her a big kiss on her pink lips, which lasted for a few seconds before he separated from her, leaving a trickle of saliva between them.

“Thanks for letting me know, Helmi I’ll meet them right now …”

Interrupting his words, he brought his face close to Helmi’s ear and whispered, “At night I will take care of pampering you, my spoiled girl.”

After this he gave her a little spanking, making Helmi blush a little, as she watched it come out, so she caressed her stomach and looked at him with affection.

‘Little baby, you must be like your father, loving but a person who can take care of his family in all circumstances.’

In the dining room of the Great, Hall Natukt was sitting with Sven and the members of the Thing. For what he wanted to talk about was something important.

Sven, who was curious to know about what important things the leader of the Inuit warriors wanted to talk about, took advantage of the moment to gather the members of the Thing as perhaps it would be an issue that will matter to the tribe.

When Einar arrived he was surprised to see his father and the rest of the Thing members, so he quickly took his place in front of his father.

Once everyone was gathered Einar looked at Natukt and with a basic Inuit language asked him, “How can we help you, what is so important to you?”

Natukt cleared his throat and looked seriously at Einar “I want to move my tribe to your island, I want to unite my tribe with yours.”

Those simple but clear words surprised Einar quite a bit because they were very sincere and he was not expected to be proposed to join the tribe.

It was a very sensitive subject because they did not know how many people were in Natukt’s tribe, but they also did not understand why he wanted to do it so he decided to ask him.

“Why do you want to join your tribe with us?”

Natukt took a deep breath and did his best to narrate the dream he had had and how he interpreted it as a divine sign from his gods.

1. Peace is a right, war is a obligation