I remember one RPG (possibly one of the Exile or Avernum games?) that said something to the effect of "it's not actually, like, a bunch of gold coins, it's an a

I remember one RPG (possibly one of the Exile or Avernum games?) that said something to the effect of "it's not actually, like, a bunch of gold coins, it's an abstraction for valuable and easily portable trade goods". Which is a fitting explanation in a lot of games, really.