Talk:Rai stones/Archives/2013

"Literally"
"As a result, a form of inflation set in (literally) and rai stones acquired with his help were less valuable than more ancient ones."

How come literally? Is it literal inflation or literal setting in?

Kejo13 (talk) 20:04, 7 February 2008 (UTC)]


 * Yeah, I don't get it either. It sounds like a form of inflation.  How else would monetary inflation set in, metaphorically?  I'm removing it (literally).72.78.251.212 (talk) 15:52, 1 March 2008 (UTC)


 * It would HAVE to be figurative inflation, inasmuch as very few kinds of money can be inflated. Excepting the condom-based currency of Balloonistan, of course.  Asat (talk) 02:59, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

"perhaps the ultimate expression of fiat money"
"In one instance, a rai being transported by canoe was accidentally dropped and sank to the sea floor. Although it was never seen again, everyone agreed that the rai must still be there, so it continued to be transacted as genuine currency - perhaps the ultimate expression of fiat money.[1]"

Removed the "fiat" comment. This is very misleading, both because it is factually wrong and because no such claim is made in the cited article, nor does the article warrant making such a claim. It would be more accurate to describe this system as involving title-transfers to real property by verbal contract. What distinguishes a fiat money is that there is no "real" asset being transferred, only a certificate or some kind. You could, for example, have a money backed by minerals buried on the moon--the inaccessibility of the minerals would not make this a fiat currency. The whole continuum--from certificates backed by gold in a vault to rightful title to a giant rock at the bottom of a lake--falls short of being "fiat." Only if there is no backing whatsoever does a money become fiat. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.205.22.18 (talk) 23:12, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

Additional citations
Why, what, where, and how does this article need additional citations for verification? Hyacinth (talk) 01:53, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Does anyone know how "rai" is pronounced? Is it "rye" or "ray"?