The currency in the Fallout world varies from area to area and even faction to faction.
Pre-War money
Pre-War money
Bottle caps
In New California, the relative scarcity of bottle caps made them a perfect currency for Hub merchants to adopt in the post-nuclear world. The adoption took place rapidly, as within ten years of Hub's founding in 2093,[Non-game 1] caps became the standard currency of the wasteland.[Non-game 2] The widespread use by Hub merchants leading to the nickname Hub bucks,[1] Hubbucks,[2] bucks,[3] Hubscript,[4] or just script.[5]
The Hub merchants supported bottle caps because of two factors: First, the technology to manufacture them and paint their surfaces had been mostly lost in the Great War, which limited any counterfeiting efforts: The paint used, machining, and metal type all have to be very specific in order for a bottle cap to be genuine.[6] Second, there is a limited number of bottle caps, which preserves their value against inflation to some degree.[7] Finally, the Hub merchants in New California could support it as a common unit of exchange by backing it with water.[8]
For similar reasons the East Coast merchants also recognize bottle caps as a currency. Their earliest recorded use by survivors originates in Appalachia as of 2096. An advertising campaign the Nuka-Cola Corporation was testing out allowed the exchange of bottle caps with robotic vendors at the Whitespring Resort due to the release of Nuka-Cola Quantum.[9][10]
While caps were the standard de facto currency in the West, the rise of the New California Republic (NCR) led to the widespread adoption of dollars, backed by gold reserves, which displaced the water-backed caps.[11] However, during the Brotherhood War the Republic's gold reserves were destroyed by Brotherhood raids to the point where new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie. Since then many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation. In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with water (exchanging a standardized measure of water for caps).[Non-game 3][Non-game 4][Non-game 5][Non-game 6]
It was not a random occurrence: The merchants conspired to reintroduce the bottle cap as a currency, out of frustration at NCR's ineptitude in handling the currency crisis. Furthermore, since Hub bridges the NCR core region with the Mojave and lands beyond, the cap could bridge the gap between NCR and Legion territories by providing a neutral form of money. In the time leading up to the introduction the merchants laid the foundations for bottle caps as a currency, establishing control of or destroying facilities that could fashion new bottle caps and seizing excessively large caches of old bottle caps (smaller ones in private hands were left alone, as their owners would readily embrace the returning bottle cap).[Non-game 6]
To protect their monopoly on the currency, Republic merchant companies, particularly the Crimson Caravan Company, aggressively sought to control all bottle cap production and ensure that no one can mass produce them and inflate the currency. Controlling bottle cap presses also allows them to replace worn out and damaged bottle caps, keeping the pool of currency stable. Due to the challenges of the bottle cap production process, small scale counterfeiting is ignored, as it's impossible to manufacture enough caps by hand to truly upset the balance.[12][13][7]
Bottle caps, NCR dollars and Legion currency are all considered legal tender by the various caravan companies and on the New Vegas Strip. Mojave merchants also accept nonstandard variants, such as Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps.
NCR dollars
The NCR introduced its own money around the turn of the 22nd century and initially it relied on coins minted from gold. By 2241, the economy of NCR dominated the West Coast and coins became universal currency, used by the three regional powers: NCR, Vault City and New Reno. During this time bottle caps had become worthless in these regions.[14]
During the conflict with the Brotherhood the Republic's gold reserves were destroyed by Brotherhood raids to the point where new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie.[15] Since then many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation.[16] In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub re-established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with water (exchanging a standardized measure of water for caps).[17][18]
By 2281, the NCR dollar is valued at about 40% of a water-backed cap[19] and only 10% of a silver Legion Denarius. In the Mojave Wasteland, these notes can be seen in the $5, $20, and $100 denominations. The notes are issued by the Republic Reserve Bank located in Angel's Boneyard. In 2281, the current Treasurer of the Republic and head of the NCR Treasury is John Michael Henderton; his signature can be found on the front face of all NCR notes found in the Mojave Wasteland.[20]
Mine scrips
The town of Redding uses Morningstar mine scrips and Kokoweef mine scrips as secondary currency, supplementing NCR dollars.
Legion money
Legion currency
Legion currency
Legion currency
Brotherhood scrips
Brotherhood scrip
Ring pulls
Ring pull
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- ↑ Demetre Romara: "{118}{}{We pay 600 hub bucks a job! That's each way! Hell, people say we take all the dangerous routes but I say they're the most excitin'! You need a little excitement in your life, am I right? Of course I am!}"
(Demetre Romara's dialogue) - ↑ Caravan driver: "{106}{}{You'll get 400 hubbucks. You might be sayin' that it ain't that much, but we go out often and you ain't gonna lose your life that easy. But you get that pay going each way, not that you have to go each way, but you'll get a total of 800 if you do. }"
(Caravan drivers' dialogue) - ↑ Jasmine: "{118}{}{Well done, lad. Here's your reward. [Jasmine gives you 3000 bucks]}"
(Jasmine's dialogue) - ↑ Aradesh: "{238}{Ara_41}{Of course, I will reward you. Bring her and you will receive 500 in Hub Script. Will you help me?}"
(Aradesh's dialogue) - ↑ Referred to as such by Lorri, Justin Greene, Decker, Keri Lee, Hub cops, caravan drivers and guards in Fallout.
- ↑ The Courier: "What makes a bottle cap genuine?"
Alice McLafferty: "Lots of little things - the paint on the label, the machining, the type of metal it's made from. I know there's counterfeit caps floating around, of course. Fortunately, they're very time-consuming to make, so the numbers are small."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pressing Matters
- ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{134}{}{Tell me more about bartering.}"
Katrina: "{139}{}{Bartering is the exchange of goods. You give me some items, and I give you items in trade. Since you initiated the barter, I will let you pick and choose what you want. But the deal must be one that I think I will like, so you will probably want to give me more valuable goods that you don't need in exchange for less expensive things that you want. And if you don't have enough items to trade, there are always caps. Bottle caps are the only common money found out here. The caps are backed by the merchants of the Hub, so you can trade them anywhere.}"
(Katrina's dialogue) - ↑ The Whitespring Resort terminal entries; Candy Shoppe Office terminal, Staff Bulletin, October 2077
- ↑ Whitespring concierge: "To celebrate the release of Nuka-Cola Quantum, The Whitespring has partnered with the Nuka-Cola Corporation to accept bottlecaps at all of our shops. For a limited time, you can take advantage of some truly amazing deals if you have the caps."
(Whitespring concierge's dialogue) - ↑ Appearance and gameplay mechanics in Fallout 2.
- ↑ The Courier: "Are new bottle caps ever made?"
Alice McLafferty: "Certainly. Bottle caps do wear out or get damaged. Some people even insist on using bottle caps in explosive devices for some reason. We make it a point to scour Pre-War bottling plants and recover or disable the bottle cap presses. It seems we missed one."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What makes a bottle cap genuine?"
Alice McLafferty: "Lots of little things - the paint on the label, the machining, the type of metal it's made from. I know there's counterfeit caps floating around, of course. Fortunately, they're very time-consuming to make, so the numbers are small."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout 2
- ↑ "And this is discussed in-game: BoS raided NCR's gold reserves until NCR could no longer generate gold coinage nor back their paper money. They abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, which is why its value is inflated over both caps and (especially) Legion coinage. (...) People in eastern NCR and the Mojave Wasteland lost faith in the NCR government's a) ability to back the listed value of paper money and b) stability overall. If you're living in Bakersfield, staring at a piece of paper that says "redeemable for value in gold" and you have no faith in the government's ability or willingness to do that -- or if you see that the government has changed the currency to say that it is not able to be exchanged for a backed good -- you may very well listen to the strong consortium of local merchants offering to exchange that paper note for currency backed by water." --J.E. Sawyer, src
- ↑ "Traders from the Mojave travel the Short Loop into NCR, which means that they have to go through a few hundred miles of solid desert. Carrying enough water to travel from New Vegas to the Boneyard (or vice versa) would undercut cargo capacity significantly. Even the communities around the Mojave Wasteland (other than New Vegas itself) have water brought in and stored in local towers. Of course, the Colorado River is nearby as long as you don't mind walking through an active war zone." --J.E. Sawyer, src
- ↑ "How does the Hub 'back' caps? Can you exchange a certain number of caps for a standard measure of water? Yes." J.E. Sawyer, src
- ↑ "It happened during the BoS-NCR war. I believe Alice McLafferty mentions it, but I'm not positive. She doesn't detail the events in this much detail, but here they are: The attacks caused NCR citizens (and others who held NCR currency) to panic, resulting in a rush to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's gold reserves. Inability to do this at several locations (especially near the periphery of NCR territory where reserves were normally low) caused a loss of faith in NCR's ability to back their currency. Though NCR eventually stopped the BoS attacks, they decided to protect against future problems by switching to fiat currency. While this meant that BoS could no longer attack a) reserves or b) the source of production (all NCR bills are made in the Boneyard), some people felt more uneasy about their money not having any "real" (backed) value. This loss of confidence increased with NCR inflation, an ever-looming spectre of fiat currency. Because the Hub links NCR with the Mojave Wasteland and beyond, the merchants there grew frustrated with NCR's handling of the currency crisis. They conspired to re-introduce the bottle cap as a water-backed currency that could "bridge the gap" between NCR and Legion territory. In the time leading up to the re-introduction, they did the footwork to position themselves properly. If some old-timer had a chest full of caps, they didn't care (in fact, they thought that was great, since the old-timers would enthusiastically embrace the return of the cap), but they did seek to control or destroy production facilities and truly large volumes of caps (e.g. Typhon's Treasure) whenever possible." --J.E. Sawyer, src
- ↑ The Courier: "You don't get paid in caps?"
Chomps Lewis: "Nope. The NCR's been trying to switch over to using paper money, like in the Pre-War days. Trouble is that the exchange rates ain't exactly fair. For example, a hundred bucks in NCR money is valued at roughly half that in caps around here. Seems like a rotten deal for us, but work is work."
(Chomps Lewis' dialogue) - ↑ Appearance of NCR dollar bills.