Abstract accompanying Paper Wealth: a TFT treasure table scenario

	Gary Gygax explored the monetary types of these documents in his 1985 premier opus as a paperback writer: Saga Of Old City - Book 1 in what would be his Greyhawk Adventures series until he got nudged out of TSR and had even his once personally trademarked Greyhawk campaign setting misappropriated. Its story is noted on the imprint page as being: "based on the AD&D game campaign which the author has conducted sporadically for something over a decade now." From Chapter 23, Gord the rogue is told that payment of a ransom demand for ten thousand gold orbs had been carried between cities in the form of a certificate.

	"How could that be?" demanded the wondering listener.
	"Oh, it isn't a new idea, only one which is most uncommon and rarely used," Gellor replied, nodding contemplatively. "Sums are borrowed and lent between certain dealers in jewels, money changers, bankers and the like. They have devised a means to transfer large amounts by means of written notes. Naturally, these notes are carefully done, and heavily magicked, but once executed are as good as gold!"
	This amazed the young thief, for he had imagined that he knew just about all there was to know about wealth. Gellor then explained to him that such instruments had a way of taking on a sort of mystical value themselves, becoming as dear as - or even dearer - than the physical things they represented, be they precious metals, gems, silks, spices, or someting else.

	`leading into the procurement instrumentality of a modern Certificate of Deposit - question of whether anything of the sort had been introduced in Gary's campaign - not likely due to the problem he notes of appraising to value them (exacerbated by D&D's association of treasure with experience) - in the story when the credit voucher has been transformed into coin and it is found that the one to be ransomed has already been freed, rather than keep the more readily negotiable coin the courier has it reconverted back to document form
	`idealized representations - defense against destruction, corruption and decay - emphasis on what it's for/ serves, rather than on what it is/ may be