[quote=James Sinclair]Comparing historical buying power to modern is notoriously difficult, but I generally assume that 1 penny roughly equals 1 modern USD (therefore 1 Echo = $100).
Using Greyfields '79 as an example, you can buy a bottle at the Bazaar for 2 pennies; today, $2 = 1 bottle of Two Buck Chuck (at least originally). By contrast a bottle of '44 Broken Giant is 2.5 echos; $250 for an expensive bottle of wine at a classy restaurant is certainly possible today. A cheap set of Workman’s Clothes is 20 pennies ($20, a reasonable price for serviceable thrift store clothes). A Distinguished Gentleman’s Outfit will set you back 115.20 echoes, or $11,520, which seems realistic for a late 19th century custom-tailored, top-quality handmade suit of menswear that only rich people (or hard-working echo-grinders) could afford.
Obviously this breaks down in a lot of cases. I would not pay $40 for a goldfish. Unless it was very, VERY cheerful.[/quote]
That might be justified considering it’s a surface goldfish in a subterranean setting. Mementos from the surface are rare, and a living, innocent, cheerful one like the goldfish especially. I suppose it’s not to steep a price for people wanting to build an aquarium. And naturally, keeping a normal fish alive in a giant cave is going to take some effort on your part.
I start to agree with the 1 USD is a pence mainly… so, Maria is a Millionaire… but… Then you start out with 1250 USD and mail is REALLY expensive. In addition, the leather jacket would cost 11520 Dollars as well, which IS a lot. Even, if out of rats. And… I think it was 50 dollars for a magnifying glass? And 40,000 for a diamond ring? A bit too much. But, it is a VERY solid basis.[li]
My personal theory on the value of an echoe has, for simplicity’s sake, always been that one echo (1895) = one British Pound (1895). As for the price discrepancies between Sunless Sea and Fallen London, I think its important to remember that you don’t sell goods directly to the consumers, you sell them on the exchange, and I think someone (Cough The Masters Cough) then sells them to Londoners at a significant mark up. I also think that the difference in the value of the townhouse could be explained in a couple different ways. My first theory is that Fallen London Characters are effectively just making a down payment on the townhouse, where as Zee captains, whose lives are extremely unpredictable and often very short have to pay full price up front. Alternatively it may be that it sunless sea you are actually buying the townhouse, where as in Fallen London you are simply arranging a longterm rental.
That certainly may be the case, although since for the Bazaar Premises and Room at the Royal Beth they make the distinction of it being a Lease and Reservation respectively I had always thought the others you were buying outright. Certainly the Steamer you are actually taking ownership of.
That’s a good point. We can definitely confirm that some of the properties are ownership outright while others are leases but most are pretty vague. If I’m remembering the text correctly Penstock usually just gives you a key not a deed, which to me implies renting rather than ownership.