Batki

Batki, or in singular, a batka , is a form of wooden currency used in Etrand, either in the forms of coins with intrinsic value or in the form of coin-shaped IOUs with no intrinsic value. It is important to note that batki aren't accepted by the royal authorities as legitimate currency, and aren't used in cities either - their usage is limited to local rural trade.

Batki exclusively function as local currency that doesn't have any legal status outside of the respective area where it is made (ground county, county, or even a single village) - it is completely nonexistent in urban areas, except as tokens by members of specific organizations (such as the Mages Guild) amongst each other.

Forms
Depending on the source material of the batki, it can take two forms: actual wooden coins, or coin-shaped IOUs.

Wooden coins
When batki are made out of more precious kinds of woods that are rare or have magical attributes (real or imagined), their intrinsic value can be the equivalent to that of metals like copper, iron, silver or gold - as such, wooden coins carved out of them hold a similar value to equivalent metal coins.

These kinds of batki have far more acceptance than its equivalent, due to the fact that they retain value even after the inevitable demise of whoever had them created.

IOUs
When batki are made out of regular, mundane types of wood, they hold very little if any intrinsic value. In these cases, batki act more like IOUs, a form of coin-shaped wooden banknotes, backed by a commodity like salt, wheat grain or hemp seeds.

These kinds of batki have far less acceptance than its equivalent, and are regularly only considered legal within one single county or village, created by the lord of the area, usually losing their validity after the death of the person who had them created. Such batki usually only remain in circulation with a few years, a decade at maximum.