Actually it used to mean a certain amount of precious metals, although not anymore. In fact its illegal to carry around more than 100$ worth of gold in preference to banknotes in the United States. Anyways, paper money is commonly accepted as the currency and is obviously backed by powerful people/orginization aka the United States. Caps are the same way. So, it makes sense that New Vegas could have caps as the currency.

The NCR could also be fading in power. They could have had a drawn out war with the BOS since FO2, and could have even lost, or been drained of manpower and resources. Or, infighting could have caused a decline. Anyways, I am sure New Vegas was outside their area of control, so using an NCR currency does not seem likely.

Your intelligence has increased by 1.

That is different. In the fallout universe all the laws agains carrying more then $100 worth of gold could be gone. Before world war 2 there were alot of people that wanted the world to switch to a one world gold currency. By the time of the great war I am sure something like that would have happend, the world backing their money with Gold. Alot of people stocking up on gold before the war. People are doing it now don't you see the "dollars 4 gold ads" all the time? By 2077 there was nothing left to base your money on other then gold and other metals. Oil was used up and most of the countries were already at war. Gold would be around and abundant.

Why would anyone use gold? It has no use, is heavy, and just useless. Poker chips would be numerous, same as caps.

Why not? It often functioned as social currency for me and my friends back in our preteen days.

Caps have no damn use/worth, Poker chips have no use/worth! they only became money because someone said it was worth something. Well in NCR and the rest of the West they agreed Gold was worth something. They figured out they could make their own money with peoples faces like all the other pre-war coins. It was in fallout 2 that they had gold coins and Van buren would have used them. We can't just say fallout 2 never happened!

you would think it would get a we bit "Sticky" over time

Caps.
or something else equally cool and original.

Gold has no damn use/worth unless someone says so, either. Everything is equally arbitrary and usable as currency as long as most people can't make more of it by themselves.

Maybe the dollar did much better. Maybe gold failed, because of its abundance. What if oil and other resources backed the dollar instead of gold? In Van Buren, a war between the NCR and the BOS had made the gold dollars value nothing, leaving caps still the only reliable currency.

I imagine they would be used much like corporate mining chits, ie: no real value outside of vegas, but redeameble for goods and services within Vegas proper.

Same for a lot of us...I think.

We can use all the well it "could have" and "may haves" we want but the thing is in FALLOUT 2 the west was using their own gold coins! We can't just say to hell with it lets go back to caps because fallout 3 and that caps look cool. Gold coins are a sign of progress and rebuilding. In DC it made sence for caps it was far from the west and they had no stability.

You also cant say nothing happened in between. Van Buren says gold failed, caps became the currency. Why would New Vegas use NCR money? Because it may or may not trade alot with them? Its independant, meaning it would have its own currency.

This is what I'd like to see:

In order of sheer prevalence (greatest to least): Bottlecaps, NCR currency (coins and/or bills), Casino chips, and Gold.

Bottlecaps are universal outside of NCR, but are being replaced by the latter's currency. As such, you are often encouraged or required to trade them out.

If you present NCR currency to someone who is tied to Caesar's Legion, they become hostile / tell you to f**k-off, or simply devalue it.

Chips are only accepted as currency in New Vegas and perhaps at smaller Casinos in other places, if there are any.

Gold is rare, but is accepted anywhere outside of NCR, at great worth. In NCR you're strictly required to trade any gold you have in exchange for approximate value in NCR money (creating a vast gold reserve is one of NCR's many goals).

I can see caps still around but NCR was expanding East. Areas around Vegas would want to trade with NCR so they would use NCR money. There would at least be a currency exchange system, Gold for Caps. Van buren said the gold coins were still being used by NCR it just was not worth anything to people out side of it. Others have told be that Van Buren is not canon as much as I would like to see it canon. If Vegas is part of NCR in the game they would be using gold. I am sure some people would still use caps.

Being independent doesnt automatically mean you use your own currency. Considering that even today there are countries that allow the use of foreign currency, its not unthinkable a major powers (unless something VERY drastic happened in the 30 years, considering NCR had if i remember correctly 600 000 citizens in 2240's) like NCR's currency would be used by others who trade with the NCR, even more so if they are spreading their territory close.

So what! There is a large gap in time between the 2 games. Anything could have happened! Why does it have to be what Fallout 2 had? Why cant it be what is most probable? Currency based off gold is very fragile. It could have collapsed between the 2 games!

Neither, Poker Chips!

An anology.

Much like the civic bones upon which economic meat is stretched, things can get a bit out of shape. The infrastructure simply needs an infusion of capitol to make new again.

In other words, "let's pool some cash and get my older brother to buy us a new pormo".

There would be an exchange system. I doubt Vegas would use NCR currency because they are trading with them. China and the US trade with each other, but obviously there are 2 different currencies.



Anything could have happened. Thats the point. It does not have to be what FO2 had, because anything could have happened. Hell, for all I know aliens could control the Western US.

Unless NCR fell, i doubt their money would disappear, be it made of gold or just random metals.

We will grow up on milk and cereal because gold is so over rated.

well that means people have to be making new porm to replace the old "used up" porm. So that means we will need the "Golden Globes" back And more Cat's Paws like places. If porm is the currency I would like to see places that make it as well

"There would at least be a currency exchange system, Gold for Caps. Van buren said the gold coins were still being used by NCR it just was not worth anything to people out side of it. Others have told be that Van Buren is not canon as much as I would like to see it canon. If Vegas is part of NCR in the game they would be using gold. I am sure some people would still use caps."

...And now you know why I can never return to my local bank, aside from the ATM outside.





But seriously; I like the idea of something like caps being used as a form of worth-something-only-because-everyone-agrees-on-it currency, but I'm just not that big on caps themselves...


And gold? Thank you, but no. Valuable, yes. But please not as the base currency to be carried by everyone who has even the slightest bit of money.


I'd rather have two rounds for my firearm than a pair of impractical bits of shiny scrap in my pocket......

i would totally be rich if porm was currency