Above the mage!

Chapter 559 In Phoenix, you're a Phoenix person.

"This purple magnolia is currently hidden in some secluded corner of the North." Sunefa's fingertip hovered lightly beside the icy purple magnolia, her tone solemn.

"Perhaps deep within the permafrost, perhaps in a fissure where geothermal fire seeps out, or perhaps in a cave covered by snow."

"But wherever it is, on the day of miracles and blessings—perhaps the day we need Anivia, or perhaps the day the North is glorious and great—this violet will bloom in full."

"Then Anivia will awaken from it, and with her great power, stand once again on this land she has protected for millions of years."

Gao De gazed at the purple flower suspended in the air, formed by Sunefa using ice elements, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

From the moment he learned that Anivia's bloodline could cleanse the blood within him and awaken his True Ice bloodline, he knew that Anivia was definitely not ordinary and had a very deep connection with the Iceborn.

But I never imagined that the connection between them would be so deep, and that Anivia would be so powerful that she is still alive today.

According to Sunefah, perhaps one day he might even be able to meet Anivia, an ancient being whom he believed had long since turned to dust.

This feeling is amazing.

"As you said, Anivia is even more important to the North than Yggdrasil is now."

“Although she has been forgotten by the people of the North, that’s precisely why we need to make them remember her. Engraving the purple jasmine flower that she transformed into on currency is an excellent way to do that.” Gao De nodded in approval.

“That’s exactly what I think,” Sunefa nodded, then paused and added:
"The establishment of a nation will inevitably take place after the unification of the Northern Territory. At that time, the nation will be established in the name of the Northern Territory, not the Zhenbing Tribe. To make the people of the Northern Territory feel a sense of recognition and belonging, the tribal distinctions must be erased."

“But the Ice Jade Wutong, as well as the North Wind and the Blizzard, are essentially elements of the Zhenbing tribe, not elements of the Northern Territory.” She looked up at Gao De, her gaze honest.

"If these three are applied to currency, the people of Winterhammer, the Frostwolf Clan, and other tribes will inevitably feel that this is the currency of Zhenbing, rather than the currency of the North, which is not conducive to the promotion of the currency and the cohesion of the people."

“You’re right.” Gao De instantly realized that he had only thought about incorporating the iconic elements of the North into the currency, but hadn’t noticed the difference between tribal attributes and North attributes.

Once Sunefa broke through this barrier, he immediately understood the key point.

However, he still glanced at Sunefa with some surprise.

He wouldn't be surprised if Elsa had sent the reminder.

But it was Sunefa who proposed it.

Sunafa is the War Mother and leader of the True Ice Clan, and the blood of the True Ice War Mother Boreas flows in her veins.

In this situation, she was able to take the initiative to propose removing the Zhenbing tribe elements from the currency, and even considered the feelings of other tribes. This vision and foresight in considering governance issues from a holistic perspective far surpasses that of ordinary tribal leaders.

Sunafa noticed Gao De's gaze but didn't react; she simply twitched her fingertips.

The frozen purple magnolia flower then transformed into tiny ice crystals, which in turn became ice elements and dissipated into the air.

"In that case, how about we use Zhenbing and Lady Flora as the symbols on the copper coins?"

Through the discussion just now, Elsa has weighed the importance and prioritized the issues, and now she confidently offers her suggestions.

"The front is engraved with Lady Flora's portrait, and the back is engraved with Zhenbing."

"The images of these two are relatively simple. Lady Flora's portrait is mainly based on her outline, and the standard True Ice Crystal is a simple geometric shape. It can be achieved by simply creating a basic coin mold, which reduces the cost of the process and is in line with the value of copper coins."

“Okay,” Sunefa was the first to agree.

After a moment's thought, Gao De also felt there was no major problem and nodded in agreement.

Flora is the darling of the Phoenix team; her image evokes images of food and stability, making her a highly unifying symbol.

True Ice is one of the symbols of the North.

"What about the silver coin?" Elsa couldn't offer any suggestions on the design of the silver coin, so she passed the question on to the two of them.

In fact, by now, the designs for the remaining gold and silver coins have been finalized:

The front features Gaode/Sunafa, and the back features Yugathira/Purple Jade Flower.

The question is, who should be placed on the gold coins?
Since gold coins have the highest value, this actually represents a positioning issue: who has a higher status.

Elsa, as the office manager, knew how sensitive this issue was.

Even though she saw Gao De and Sunafa discussing matters side by side and trusting each other every day, she dared not bet that the two of them were completely indifferent to this matter.

Sunefair is the War Mother of the True Ice Clan, with Boreas blood flowing through her veins, and is the spiritual leader of the Northern Iceborn.

Gaudí, on the other hand, was the core of Phoenix's rise and the leader of the unification of the North. In fact, the two were evenly matched in status.

Such a sensitive decision must not be made by her, an "outsider," but must be decided by the two of them personally.

She had expected to see the two of them being considerate of each other, or perhaps a brief moment of silence and reflection.

After all, few people would answer questions involving core positions and power immediately.

To her surprise, Gao De, upon hearing the question, did not hesitate at all. He looked up at Sunaifa and asked in a calm tone, "What do you think?"

Sunafa was equally decisive, giving his answer almost the instant Gaode finished speaking: "Engrave my portrait on the front and Yogathira on the back."

She further explained, adding, "As for the gold coins, they should be engraved with your portrait, with a purple magnolia flower on the reverse. It's still the point I just mentioned: try to eliminate the pure ice element from the currency as much as possible."

"And I, after all, am the War Mother of the Zhenbing tribe, a native of Zhenbing. You, on the other hand, were not born into any tribe in the Northern Territory, so you are more suitable to be valued in gold coins than I am."

Elsa, who was listening nearby, was slightly taken aback.

She didn't expect Sunaifa to so readily give up the gold coin portrait to Gaode, and she certainly didn't expect the reason to be so clear, without any consideration of personal emotions.

A hint of surprise flashed in Gao De's eyes, which quickly turned into a knowing smile.

He nodded slightly, without any further hesitation, and simply said, "Okay, let's settle on this for now."

"What about anti-counterfeiting technology? How should we approach this?" Elsa asked the crucial question.

Minting coins is far more complex than simply melting gold and silver into round shapes.

Besides the workshops in Ironforge and a stable supply of mineral resources, the key to the smooth promotion and establishment of currency lies in anti-counterfeiting measures.

In Gaode's predecessor, when paper money was used as currency, the importance of anti-counterfeiting features was universally acknowledged; they were the foundation for ensuring the credibility of currency.

In this gold standard world, while gold coins have a basis for circulation due to the intrinsic value of gold, this doesn't mean that anti-counterfeiting measures become optional; in fact, their importance has increased. The reason is simple: while gold purity is indeed a core value standard, how can ordinary traders quickly verify the purity of gold coins?
The main purpose of anti-counterfeiting measures is not to prevent people from making fake gold, but to prevent people from making fake currency. These two are fundamentally different.

If a currency lacks obvious and easily observable anti-counterfeiting features, it is destined to be unpopular and does not meet the basic requirements to become a "major power's currency."

Moreover, anti-counterfeiting features help manage the boundaries of currency circulation.

Gold coins without anti-counterfeiting features or with extremely low anti-counterfeiting standards will inevitably lead to "bad money driving out good money":
Counterfeit coins proliferate due to their lower cost, leading people to hoard or melt down full-weight official currency and use only inferior counterfeit coins, causing the entire monetary system to collapse and triggering economic chaos.

Therefore, anti-counterfeiting labels not only need to be made, but also need to be made carefully and well, so that "ordinary people can distinguish them and counterfeiters cannot copy them".

"Anti-torn edge anti-counterfeiting is the most basic and crucial design feature." Elsa, as always, understood the intricacies and spoke first.

Without the anti-cutting design, cunning people would secretly scrape gold fragments off the edges of the currency with a knife.

Scrape ten or eight pieces, and you can melt out a small piece of gold.

The scraped coins are lighter, but can still circulate among normal currency.

When there are too many damaged coins like this, the market falls into chaos.

Therefore, edge anti-counterfeiting can be considered a core method.

"The anti-trimming method used by the Duchy of Westin is a custom-made, high-level alchemy machine that can press uniform serrations into the edges of silver and gold coins, with the same tooth spacing and depth for each coin."

This is the most common method, which is just enough for a duchy that is not very powerful. All it takes is some effort or money to customize a high-level alchemy machine.

However, the drawbacks are also obvious. For a powerful alchemist, it is not difficult to decipher and create an alchemical machine that can suppress the same tooth edges.

In other words, relying solely on edge-cutting anti-counterfeiting measures is still too low a barrier to entry.

However, this is not the only anti-counterfeiting feature for currency.

"The second layer of anti-counterfeiting design is generally the surface pattern and markings, also known as surface anti-counterfeiting."

"The core of surface anti-counterfeiting is to make the patterns difficult to imitate, and to build a barrier with the complexity of the process so that counterfeiters can see it but cannot make it."

"Like the broom coin, the relief of Liszt I on the obverse, the expression in his eyes, the layering of the folds of his clothes, and even the embroidered patterns on the collar are all clearly engraved; the broom on the reverse, the veins of each petal and the graininess of the stamen are so delicate that they look like real flowers pressed on."

"This kind of process can only be achieved using the most advanced alchemical machines and molds adjusted by master craftsmen."

"The counterfeiters' machines are not advanced enough, and their molds are not precise enough. The embossed surface of the counterfeit gold coins will appear extremely rough, and even ordinary people can tell the difference at a glance."

"Of course, this is the highest level of skill."

“The complexity and fineness of the surface patterns in the Duchy of Xidian are far inferior to those in the Duchy of Xidian, but even so, they are still difficult for ordinary small workshops to imitate.”

"The last universal anti-counterfeiting design is purity and material control, which curbs counterfeit currency at the source."

"For example, the core value of gold coins is the purity of gold. Therefore, when countries mint their own currencies, they will clearly stipulate the gold content and total weight of the gold coins to form a standard weight. If it deviates from the standard weight, it is a counterfeit coin."

“That’s three layers of anti-counterfeiting measures: edge protection against trimming, high-quality surface decoration, and fixed purity and weight. Let’s break through them one by one.” After listening to Elsa’s words, Gao De tapped his fingers lightly on the table with a steady rhythm.

"In terms of edge protection, we in the North are relatively backward and certainly can't build an alchemical machine that can suppress the precision teeth. It's even more unrealistic to order one from an outside city-state," Elsa analyzed very rationally.

Not only would it be difficult to find a large alchemy workshop or a high-ranking alchemist without such connections, but transportation would also be challenging.

In addition, the machine also needs to be maintained by a craftsman, otherwise it cannot be repaired if it breaks down.

More importantly, there is the risk of exposing the northern border.

Gaode's strategy has always been to pursue development in a low-key manner.

Her words made the atmosphere at the table a little heavier, but before everyone could fall into deep thought, Gao De suddenly laughed: "We don't necessarily have to use alchemical machines. Sometimes, the power of nature is more reliable and harder to replicate than man-made machines."

“Zhenbing.” Almost the instant Gao De finished speaking, Sunafa replied, her eyes meeting Gao De’s, and the two reached an amazing understanding.

“Yes, it’s Zhenbing,” Gao De said with a smile.

“Zhenbing is something that will never melt. From a physical perspective, it is the best temperature-controlled machine in nature.”

"We only need to use Zhenbing to create an environment similar to a secret room or passage, and let the gold/silver coins pass through quickly while they are still warm after being stamped."

"When an extremely hot coin blank comes into contact with extremely cold pure ice, the huge temperature difference stress will cause microscopic, completely random ice crack textures at the metal edge. These textures are not carved, but are imprinted by the ice cracks of pure ice when the metal expands and contracts with temperature."

“Even the slightest difference in the degree of heating or the angle at which each coin comes into contact with the pure ice will result in completely different patterns.”

"These naturally formed patterns are absolutely impossible to replicate in batches."

“True Ice is a unique resource in the North, difficult for outsiders to obtain and reshape, and they have a hard time replicating this process.”

"Even if counterfeiters possess advanced alchemy machines, they can only mass-produce coins with identical edge textures. Not to mention the vast difference in detail and randomness compared to the genuine articles, they would be extremely difficult to use and impractical."

Elsa was a smart woman, and after hearing what Gao De said, she immediately understood the brilliance of this method and clapped her hands in admiration.

The idea of ​​replacing the jagged rules that can be cracked by machines with the absolutely unreplicable power of nature is truly ingenious.

"As for the second layer of surface anti-counterfeiting."

"I can't think of a shortcut for now; we can only follow the conventional methods," Gao De said honestly.

“The conventional method,” Sunefa repeated softly.

Clearly, the North does not meet the conditions for conventional methods.

Ironforge filled the gap in forging.

However, the forging skills of the artisans in Ironforge are limited to the field of extraordinary weapons. They are good at the hardness and toughness of weapons, but do not have the ability to make coin-minting alchemy machines or molds.

“The original artisans of Winter’s Hammer didn’t have this skill, but don’t forget, we now have two true alchemy masters in Phoenix.” God knew what Sunefa was thinking and gently reminded her, his tone sly.

“Two alchemy masters.” Sunefa was slightly taken aback at first, then after a few breaths, her eyes lit up, and she finally understood what Goddard meant. “You mean?!”

“Yes, it’s those two from the Yang family,” Gao De said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)