"I took a coin from the leather sack and threw it to the proprietor. He snatched it expertly from the air like a skeptical cormorant. He examined the coin. It was a silver tarn disk. He bit against the metal, the muscles on his jaw bulging in the lamplight. A trace of avaricious pleasure appeared in his eyes. I knew he would not care to return it. "What caste is it?" I demanded. The proprietor smiled. "Money has no caste," he said. "Bring me food and drink," I said. "I had hardly settled myself behind the table when the proprietor had placed a large, fat pot of streaming Kal-da before me. It almost burned my hands to lift the pot." The proprietor arrived with hot bread, honey, salt and, to my delight, a huge, hot roasted chunk of tarsk. I crammed my mouth with food and washed it down with another thundering draught of Kal-da."
Outlaw of Gor pgs 77 - 79
"'You have in the ten round ships," I said, "one hundred tarns, with riders." "Yes," said he, "and as you asked, with each tarn a knotted rope and five of the seamen of Port Kar." .... "I will have a hundred stones of gold for the use of these birds and my men," said Terence of Treve. .... "A hundred stones," I said, "though a high price, seems small enough, considering the risk you will encounter.'"
Raiders of Gor pgs 272 - 273
"'A silver tarsk a month," said the officer. This was a handsome sum. I was sure it was more than most of the men about me were receiving. .... "Seldom," said the officer, "have I seen steel move as swiftly, as deceptively, as yours. My offer stands. Rations and a silver tarsk, one for each month of service." "Rations and a gold tarsk," said the woman, looking down at me. She had made the offer without consulting the officer. She had obviously much authority and power."
Savages of Gor pg 89 - 90
"I hired mercenaries," said he. "I went to the Jeweled Whip last night and made the arrangements. Things would have gone quite smoothly if you had stayed where you were supposed to be.".... "How many are there?" I asked. "A hundred, or better," said Marcus. "And I assure you these sleen do not come cheap."..... The leader of the Mercenaries hefted the bag of gold in his hand. ..... "But it is a hundred pieces of gold," I said. "tarns disks of Ar, full weight."
Vagabonds of Gor pg 470 - 471 & pg 484
"Whereas caste membership is commonly connected with the practice of an occupation, such as agriculture, or commerce, or war, there can be, of course, caste members who are not engaged in caste work and individuals who do certain forms of work who are not members of that caste commonly associated with such work. Caste commonly, though not invariably, is a matter of birth. One may, too, be received into a caste by investment. Normally mating takes place among caste members, but if the mating is of mixed caste, the woman may elect to retain caste, which is commonly done, or be received into the caste of the male companion. Caste membership of the children born of such a union is a function of the caste of the father. Similar considerations, in certain cities, hold of citizenship. Caste is important to Goreans in a way that is difficult for members of a non-caste society to understand. Though there are doubtless difficulties involved with caste structure the caste situation lends an individual identity and pride, allies him with thousands of caste brothers, and provides him with various opportunities and services. Recreation on Gor is often associated with caste, and tournaments and entertainments. Similarly, most public charity on Gor is administered through caste structure. The caste system is not inflexible and there are opportunities for altering caste, but men seldom avail themselves of them; they take great pride in their castes, often comparing other's castes unfavorably to their own; a Gorean's caste, by the time he reaches adulthood, seems to have become a part of his very blood and being; the average Gorean would no more think of altering caste than the average man of Earth would of altering his citizenship, from, say, American to Russian, or French to Chinese. The caste structure, in spite of its many defects, doubtless contributes to the stability of Gorean society, a society in which the individual has a place, in which his work is respected, and in which he can plan intelligently with respect to the future."
Slave Girl of Gor pg 212 - 213
"My own brand was the dina; the dina is a small lovely, multiply petaled flower, short-stemmed, and blooming in a turf of green leaves, usually on the slopes of hills, in the northern temperate zones of Gor; in its budding, though in few other ways, it resembles a rose; it is an exotic, alien flower: it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower; it was burned into my flesh; in the south, below the Gorean equator, where the flower is much more rare, it is prized more highly; some years ago, it was not uncommon for lower-caste families in the south to give the name 'Dina' to their daughters, that practice has now largely vanished, with the opening and expansion of greater trade, and cultural exchange, between such cities as Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and the giant of the southern hemisphere, Turia. In the fall of the city of Turia, some years ago, thousands of its citizens had fled, many of them merchants or of merchant families; with the preservation of the city, and the restoration of the Ubarate of Phanias Turmus, many of these families returned; new contacts had been made, new products discovered; even of those Turians who did not return to their native city, many of them remaining in their new homes, became agents for the distribution of Turian goods, and for the leathers and goods of the Wagon Peoples, channeled through Turia. That in the north the lovely dina was spoken of as the 'slave flower' did not escape the notice of the expatriated Turians; in time, in spite of the fact that 'Dina' is a lovely name, and the dina a delicate, beautiful flower, it would no longer be used in the southern hemisphere, no more than in the northern, as a name for free women; those free women who bore then name commonly had it changed by law, removed from the lists of their cities and replaced by something less degrading and more suitable."
Slave Girl of Gor pg 61 - 62
"It was natural, given the fact that the dina is the 'slave flower,' that eventually slaver, warriors, and merchants, those with an interest in the buying and selling of women, should develop a brand based on the flower. Beyond this, there exists on Gor a variety of brands for women, though the kajira brand, which Eta wore, is by far the most common. Some merchants invent brands, as the dina was invented, in order to freshen the nature of their merchandise and stimulate sales."
Slave Girl of Gor pg 62 - 63
"'Surely," I said to Boots Tarsk-Bit, "your players have taken in a sliver tarsk?" "No," he said. "We have, so far tonight, taken in only ninety- seven tarsk-bits, not even ten copper tarsks." Coinage on Gor varies considerably from city to city. In Port Kar, and generally in the Vosk Basin, there are ten tarsk bits to a copper tarsk and one hundred copper tarsks to a silver tarsk."
Players of Gor pg 59
"'In his wallet were staters of Brundisium," I said. "Do you know anything about Brundisium, anything having to do with either Priest Kings or Kurii?" "No," said Samos. "Then the Brundisium staters are probably meaningless," I said. "I would suppose so," said Samos. "They are, of course, a valuable stater. There would be nothing incredible about their use being specified in a given transaction." "Why not the coinage of Ar," I asked, "or that of Port Kar, or of Asperiche, or Tharna, or Tyros, or Schendi, or Turia?" "I do not know," said Samos."
Players of Gor pg 74
"Many of the daughters of merchants are proud sorts, for the merchants themselves, by virtue of their power, tend to vanity and pride, and agitate, justifiably or not, for the inclusion of their caste among the high castes of Gor. Their pampered daughters, protected from work and responsibility, ostentatiously garbed and elaborately educated in caste trivia, tend to be spoiled and soft."
Slave Girl of Gor pg 113
"I smiled. The ransom money of Gurt of Kassua would, doubtless, be largely composed of the stamped coin of Lydius. The only mint at which gold coins were stamped within a thousand pasangs was in Lydius, at the mouth of the Laurius. Certain Jarls, of course, in a sense, coined money, marking bars of iron or gold, usually small rectangular solids, with their mark. Ring money was also used, but seldom stamped with a jarls mark. Each ring, strung on a larger ring, would be individually weighed in scales. Many transactions are also done with fragments of gold and silver, often broken from larger objects, such as cups or plates, and these must be individually weighed. Indeed, the men of the north think little of breaking apart objects with in the south, would be highly prized for their artistic value, simply to obtain pieces of negotiable precious metal."
Marauders of Gor pg 76
"'It took time to weigh the gold," he said, "and there was some dispute as to the accuracy of the scales." "Oh?" I asked. "Yes," said the Forkbeard. The weights of Gurt of Kassau were too light." "I see," I said. "Here is the gold," he said, hurling the sack to Gorm. "One hundred and twenty pieces." The scales of Gurt of Kassau, I see," I said, "weighed lightly indeed."
Marauders of Gor pg 77
"To be sure, much seems to depend on the city and the particular weights involved. For example, a 'double tarn' is twice the weight of a 'tarn'. It seems there are usually eight tarsk-bits in a copper tarsk, and that these are the result of cutting a circular coin in half, and then the halves in half, and then each of these halves in half. An analogy would be the practice of cutting the round, flat Gorean loaf of sa-tarna bread into eight pieces. There are apparently something like one hundred copper tarsks in a silver tarsk in many cities. Similarly, something like 10 silver tarsks would apparently be equivalent, depending on weights, etc., to one gold piece, say a single 'tarn'. Accordingly, on this approach, the equivalencies, very approximately, and probably only for certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to a copper tarsk; one hundred copper tarsks to a silver tarsk; and ten silver tarsk to a gold piece, a single tarn. On this approach there would be, literally 8,000 tarsk bits in a single gold piece."
Magicians of Gor pg 469
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